If Wishes Were Shadows
Happy New Year!
Today we have the pleasure of speaking with author A. Sangrey Black about her new novel If Wishes Were Shadows.
1: What is IF
WISHES WERE SHADOWS
about? As the author, what do you say it is about?
Shadows
is about a businesswoman named Calinda Byer who is in love with an
ancient, dominant Master vampire named Adam Straton. They've been
involved in a BDSM relationship for about two years, and she's ready
to take the big next step -- THE big commitment of being turned into
a vampire. Adam doesn't think she should make that kind of decision
until she has seen the real depths and shadows of his lifestyle as a
vampire; things he's kept from her partly because he believes it's
private unless she's his mate, and partly because he's afraid it
would drive her away. There is a great deal about his life as a
vampire that she doesn't know, or if she knows, doesn't understand.
So they have agreed to spend the weekend at his country house, and he
will introduce her to his true
darkness. Including his male vampire lover of over a hundred years.
The
question is, just how far is Calinda willing to go to keep her
beloved vampire?
2:
How did the idea for this story come about?
I've
been wanting to try writing BDSM for a while. I write mainstream
vampire romance and urban fantasy (as H.A. Fowler), so it seemed a
natural fit to have vampire characters in a more hardcore
environment. It was also a great opportunity to use a human character
on the edge of turning as the outside character -- the human that the
reader could relate to as she is exposed to this world for the first
time.
3:
Where is your well of inspiration for this novel? How did the idea
come to you?
I
used to write this genre way back in my fanfic days -- I figured
since BDSM was in style, now would be a great time to bring some of
that dark, paranormal BDSM into my professional writing. Cobblestone
Press was looking for ménage and BDSM stories, so I decided to
combine both of those with my favorite genre, and really walk the
edge of erotica and paranormal romance -- because as dark and scary
as this story can be, it really does look at a different kind of love
from a unique viewpoint. I think a lot of people thing BDSM is what
you find in 50
Shades of Gray,
but it's not. At all.
4:
Do you base any of your characters on real people? If so, do they
know, and how do they feel about their portrayal?
Sometimes
I borrow bits and pieces of people I know, but it's more likely that
I steal entire characters that I see on the street or at the mall,
the library, or what have you, and just make up stories for them
based on whatever it is that catches my attention about them. I'm
often inspired by particularly interesting fictional characters as
well.
5:
Writing music? What is coming through your speakers when you're
writing?
I
actually need silence when I'm writing, but I put together playlists
for each story to listen to in between writing times to keep the
emotional flow going. Sometimes, entire scenes or stories are based
on songs, and having that song seared in my mind and heart makes it
more authentic when I sit down to write.
6:
If your book had a theme song, what would it be and why?
I
didn't really have one when I wrote it, but every time I hear
"Humming" by Portishead, I think of IF WISHES WERE SHADOWS.
It's creepy and sexy at the same time, and the lyrics talk about
emptiness and taboo feelings, something missing in someone's life, as
both Calinda and Adam think as they embark on this really dark,
intimate journey together that will ultimately decide the fate of
their relationship.
7:
For
you, what is the most problematic portion of writing a novel? Plot
lines? Character depth?
Sagging
middles! The easiest parts of writing a novel for me are characters,
beginning, and endings. I almost always have those complete in my
head and outlined before I begin writing. It's the middles that kill
me. It takes forever to determine what the characters are doing in
that time between the exciting beginning and the exciting end!
8:
When writing, are you ever stumped? How do you get over it?
Sometimes
I get stuck. Even with an outline I wander off track by following
what characters seem to want to do, and if they stop talking at that
point, I have to find a way back to the story. Sometimes I'll keeping
banging away at it until it shakes loose, but sometimes I have to set
it aside and either work on something else for a while or take a
reading break until either an answer comes or I'm ready to go back to
the banging again.
9:
Do you have a character that is most like you? If so, why and how?
It
sounds cliché, but there's a little bit of me in every character, I
suppose. Although I wouldn't want to admit it, with some of them.
LOL. Others are idealized versions of myself, or possess at least
some characteristics that I wish I had. Of course, writing paranormal
stories gives me the chance to imagine possessing powers and having
experiences that don't even exist. I think the only character that
was really LIKE me was the first heroine I ever wrote in my first
terrible novel, a contemporary that was such fantasy fulfillment,
it's not even funny. But I really wrote that novel just to see if I
could. For fun, so I wasn't terribly concerned that the heroine was
so obviously me.
10:
Are there any characters that were difficult to write? If so, why?I
struggle with villains/antagonists sometimes. I often have to
re-write them after the first draft, because they often come off very
mustache-twirling, mwahahahaha types, without any depth or
sympathetic tendencies. A good antagonist has to be more than just
evil, and I tend to forget that when I'm really in the moment.
11:
What are you favorite authors and books? What do you like about them?
I
hate this question! LOL I have read and loved so many books over the
years, and discover so many new authors all the time that I feel like
I'm not doing them justice if I name favorites. But I guess my
favorite authors are the ones that write characters and relationships
that I really care about, that stick with me between books and make
me fret for the next part of the story. Diana Gabaldon, La Nora (as
JD Robb), Kim Harrison, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Jim Butcher, L.A. Banks,
Anne Rice, Rachel Caine, Laurell K. Hamilton… I could go on and on!
As for books -- it's even worse! I love the series of all my favorite
authors, but my all time favorites are OUTLANDER by Diana Gabaldon, A
KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR by Judith Devereaux, and MYSTS OF AVALON by
Marion Zimmer Bradley. Those were books that really ripped me apart
emotionally, bringing me to the highest peaks and very depths of
feeling. If a book or series makes me laugh, keeps my knuckles white
with suspense, makes me sigh with the romance, and makes me cry, it
has my heart forever!
12:
What are you working on now? What can we expect to see from you in
the near future?
I'm
taking a little bit of a break right this moment for the holidays --
plus, I was feeling a little burned out. I wrote three novellas in a
row, plus good chunks of another, a novel, and some others. After the
New Year, I have a tight schedule -- several short stories in varied
categories, most notably a few new shorts in the SHADOWS series, of
which IF WISHES WERE SHADOWS is the first. I have plans for a number
of m/m short stories and novellas, some contemporary and some
paranormal, as well as an erotic paranormal series starring an
incubus and succubus that's… sort of hard to explain. LOL I also
have some mainstream projects on the horizon under my H.A. Fowler
imprint coming next year, as well.
13:
If any actress was to play you in your biopic, who would it be?
Ideally
or realistically? LOL I would love to say Adele… except she's a
singer, she's British, and she's a lot more elegant style-wise than I
am. But she's got that whole "screw you, I do what I want"
thing that's sort of the basis of my personality. But you'd have to
throw some Drew Barrymore goofiness and kindness, some Susan Sarandon
dedication to causes, some Kat Dennings filthy sense of humor and
giant boobs…
In
other words, I couldn't think of just one. :D
14:
Speaking of family and friends, do you have a support system when it
comes to writing? What was the reaction from those close to you about
your novels?
Mmmm..
this is a complicated one. My family is ambivalent at best about my
writing vampire and paranormal romance. They know I write mainstream
smutty fiction, and they're okay with that, although no one has read
a single piece that I've written! They're proud that I'm published,
but they're not much for vampires… or smut. As for my darker,
kinkier stuff, they KNOW NOTHING. While I created my A. Sangrey Black
alter ego primarily as a fun branding thing, it's also because nobody
in my family would be cool with my writing either gay or BDSM
fiction.
15:
If you could change anything about the book(s) that are already out
there, is there something you wish you'd changed?
Oh,
man! I can't read a lot of my old stuff, because I want to rewrite it
all. Grammar, plot, characterization -- the sex scenes, oy! Of course
writing skills are fluid, so hopefully you change and evolve as your
career goes on, but what you have out in the world already is there
until your rights revert! Which I was lucky enough to have happen
with one short story under my H.A. Fowler brand, called POSITIVE
ENCOUNTER. Since it's so tricky to sell a piece that's already been
published, I decided to self-publish -- AFTER MASSIVE RE-WRITES. LOL!
I mean, I kept the foundation and skeleton of the original intact,
but I fixed a lot of things about it that were terrible, or that I
just didn't like before I published it again. That was really
wonderful, even if I only sold a few more copies.
16:
You're about to write. Do you have a ritual?
I
don't know if it's a ritual, per se, but I generally sit down with an
extensive character outline for each of the major characters -- I
have a form I use with over 100 items. I can't express how important
it is to know your characters that well. Even if you don't use all of
the information, if you know the most intimate details about your
characters, it can really save your story if you get stuck, or add
richness it might not have otherwise.
After
that, I'll do a quick outline of the entire story, using the
Snowflake Method by Randy Ingermanson and a modified version of The
Marshall Plan for Novel Writing. Then, depending on the complexity
and length of the piece, I'll do a full outline using The Marshall
Plan Action Sheets.
17:
Do you have any great programs to write or edit your books?
I
have a collection… and I don't always use them the way I should. I
have Write It Now, which has been the one I've used the most. I also
have YWriter, and I'm trying to learn Scrivener right now.
18:
What are you currently reading? Other than real estate course work
and politico articles, of course.
Heh.
Because I'm not already completely over-scheduled, I've taken on some
book reviewing, so I have a stack of books I'm reading all at the
same time. For fun, I'm reading the hilarious FLIRTING WITH FANGS by
Peg Pierson and the O COME ALL YE KINKY Anthology from Riptide
Publishing; for review, I'm reading DELIVER ME FROM DARKNESS by Tes
Hilaire, and in my quest to catch up on some of the urban fantasy
series that I've missed, I'm reading AT GRAVE'S END by Jeaniene
Frost, and FINALLY, for craft I'm reading EMOTIONAL STRUCTURE:
CREATING THE STORY BENEATH THE PLOT by Peter Dunne.
Phew!
19:
Do you have any great moments in writing to share? A character hits
too close to home? A plot line makes you cringe?
Of
course, the best part of writing EVER is hearing positive feedback
from readers. There is no feeling in the world like having someone
tell you that your story moved them or made them laugh or cry… or
get really hot. *G*
There
are small victories that sometimes are the only fuel to keep you
going in the lonely world of the writer: when you write a really
great line, scene, or chapter that feels like it conveyed exactly
what you wanted it to, for example. When a character develops a mind
of her or his own and does something wonderful that changes the
course of your story for the better. For me, I find completing a sex
scene really satisfying. LOL. It's sex on a page, sure, but it still
makes me want to light up a smoke -- if I still smoked, which I
don't. So mostly I just grin a lot and pat myself on the back.
When
a piece is finished, of course, that's great. Selling it is even
better! Signing your name on a contract is a beautiful thing. Seeing
your cover for the first time (unless it's bad, and then… well,
that could be an entire post in itself), and RELEASE DAY! The very
best day of all.
If
you write from the heart, you'll be struck by what you produce more
times than you might like. Sex scenes are like that in a fun way. But
particularly wrenching emotional scenes can sometimes really hurt to
get through. In one of my H.A. Fowler books, there was just one
tragedy after another piled on the hero and heroine, and every time
their hearts broke, mine did too. I cried a lot writing those books.
I
have an unfinished manuscript I'm working on that involves some
pretty gruesome scenes, and even though I have a horror fan's iron
stomach, even I've had to pause and take a few deep breaths. But I
think it's important to keep telling that story to make sure the
horror of the premise is clear.
20:
You meet one of your characters in a dark alley. You...?
Depends
on who it is! LOL. The SHADOWS characters are very sexy… but also
very dangerous. While Adam wouldn't just rip someone apart in an
alley or something -- he's far above that -- he's also a sadist. So
as long as we're in the alley, I'm good. If I go home with him and
end up in the dungeon? Yeah, not so much.
Calinda?
I can't really answer that without spoiling IF WISHES WERE SHADOWS.
Her character could be going through some serious changes from where
she began.
George
William? Well… let's just say it depends on his mood. Maybe jump
his bones… maybe run screaming for my life.
21:
What do you want fans to know about IF WISHES WERE SHADOWS? About
you? What do you want them to know about your day, your passions,
your mind-frame when you're writing?
IF
WISHES WERE SHADOWS was really an experiment for me… and I loved
doing it. Which means I'll be doing more in the paranormal BDSM
arena. The genre really sets me free as a writer -- Safe, Sane, and
Consensual is VERY important when writing human BDSM… but the rules
are next to non-existent when you're talking about immortal
creatures. It's cathartic and dare I say even fun to delve into the
darkest corners of my own fantasy world and be able to express that
in stories that I hope other kinky people will enjoy.
It's
a fun irony to tell people that I'm about as vanilla as they come in
my personal life. But I'm fascinated by the range of human
experience. In writing IWWS, I made sure to talk to people in the
life, as well as doing a ton of reading, to learn what I could about
BDSM. As much as possible without living it, of course. However, I
didn't get to talk to any vampires, which was a mixed blessing and
bummer.
I
am one of those truly lucky people who get to do what they love all
day long. I do freelance work for a "living," and while I
complain about it a lot(because it's taking time away from my
fiction), I can't express how much better it is to be here at my desk
at home writing than sitting in an office all day long wishing
I was writing, as I used to do.
Writing
is my passion, my escape, my way of relating to the world in a more
colorful way. I get to do and say and see things in my writing that
aren't even possible in real life. My parents always encouraged me to
use my imagination as a kid -- well, this is what they get! LOL
Tour provided by Full Moon Bites Blog Tours.
.jpg)
