Though Liz Lincoln, who writes under the nom de plume of Eliza Madison, just published her first erotic novella, the Milwaukee writer isn’t new to penning books about romance.

"I've been writing romance forever, really," says Lincoln, who debuted "Fast, Fresh and Hot" this summer on Amazon. " I wrote romance stories when I was in middle school."

Professionally, however, she got her start when she joined the Romance Writers of America, and six novels later – "A lot of them will never see the light of day, and absolutely should not" – Lincoln has an agent, a book for sale and another on the way.

"Fast, Fresh and Hot" isn’t a "bodice ripper," that pulpy genre of books that was once associated with romance novels. "We don’t like that term," says Lincoln.

Instead, her offering is a funny but romantic story for Millennials who aren’t so into the kind of books with Fabio on the cover. Lincoln calls it "pizzarotica."

"It's trying to catch the kids who five years ago got really into young adult novels," says Lincoln, who admits that there’s a little bit of herself in the main character, Becca. "Now they're growing up, and they still like romantic stuff. They want to read about characters that are having similar lives to theirs."

That means you’ll find jokes about Batman and "Back to the Future" sprinkled in alongside some spicy sex scenes between the protagonist, and her pizza delivery guy, Tariq.

The plot actually came to Lincoln during a Twitter conversation with friends: "It's all hot and steamy, but she's got some issues from her past. He's really interested in committing, so he pushes this a little farther," she says.

If this all sounds a little far-fetched, just check out this excerpt from the 105-page novella:

"Tariq’s lips brushed mine. A whisper of a kiss that jolted through me like lightning. I felt it all the way to my toes, which were curling inside my Wonder Woman socks.

'Becca,' he murmured, then gave me another breath of a kiss. I wanted more, so much more. My lips parted, inviting him in.

He nibbled my lower lip, slid another soft kiss to the edge of my mouth, then slowly drew back."

Lincoln says the process has been fun for the married mom of two, who works for a small non-profit organization as her day job. A lot of her writing is actually speaking into a tape recorder during her commute and transcribing it later. Lincoln says she can write the first draft of a 100-page novella in about six weeks, at 1,000 words per day.

Says Lincoln, "I’m sitting in a coffee shop, or I'll be at soccer practice jotting notes. I look around and there's 5-year-olds playing soccer, and I’m writing about steamy stuff. Sometimes it's a little odd, but my kids always manage to interrupt me at the most embarrassing moments."

Obviously, Lincoln would like to make writing her full-time job, but she'll need to sell a lot of $2.99 novellas to make that happen. Instead, she’s using this six-book series to draw attention to her work and hopefully transition into the traditionally published market. Until then, she will keep writing and writing … and publicizing the book herself.

"I'm working on soliciting reviews from some book review sites. When the print version is out, I'll set up some signings," she says. "But the biggest thing, and it's a cliché – but it's a cliché because it's true – the best marketing tool is still word of mouth."

It’s worked before, says Lincoln. Other self-published authors have built a fan base that carries on into future book sales. "It's been a lot of learning," she says, "because I've known how the traditional publishing path goes."

Lincoln’s follow-up novella, "Service With a Smolder: A Men at Work Novella," will be released on July 27 as a eBook on Amazon, also for $2.99. She's also doing a giveaway on her website at theelizamadison.com.