Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Author Spotlight: Tiffany Reisz


Today, I have an interview with the amazing Tiffany Reizs for you. We are celebrating the digital release of her book The Siren (in paperback July 2012). Trust me, you do not want to miss this one. This is BDSM done right and done well. Besides being extremely talented, she's also really cool, so don't sleep on this one! Don't worry, I've provided links to get your dirty little self a copy of this delicious book at the end of the interview.

***************************************************************************


With a reputation almost as wild as the truth about her, Nora Sutherlin is the most infamous writer in New York.
With black hair, ice blue eyes, and a British accent, Zachary Easton is the sexiest editor in all of publishing…and the stuffiest.
And now they have to work together.
This might not be a good idea…




What was the first romance novel you read? How did that book influence your future as a writer?

I not only remember the first romance novel I ever read, I still have a copy of it. It’s THE SHIEK’S REVENGE by Emma Darcy, a Harlequin Presents. I read and re-read it. The opening scene involves the hot sheik discussing a sexy painting with the heroine. Later I would steal this idea for THE SIREN.

When or how did you decide to write erotica? Did you or do you plan to write in any another genre?

I’m not a huge fan of genre labels. They tend to fence in a writer. But there’s something about the word “erotica” that stirs the blood. It’s the most ancient genre and the most infamous. I love sex and find it fascinating so it’s only natural that’s the genre I gravitated too. I have another book in the works that would be urban fantasy but urban fantasy with my trademark goofiness and eroticism.

We all have pitfalls in our writing process. What is yours and how do you combat it or work around it?

Twitter is an addiction. I’m a social butterfly online. I love to talk and interact with all my cool online friends so it’s hard for me to tear myself away to get real writing done. But then I remember 90% of my followers are following me because of my writing. I don’t want to let them down so I get back to the typing. Sigh…

You’re known for being very open about that fact that you enjoy BDSM. I know many ER authors who shy away from being overtly sexual because they fear how they will be viewed given their profession. As a person who also lives a good portion of her sex life publicly (writing The Bombshell Mommy), I’m intrigued that you decided to cross into the territory of full disclosure. What was it that made you take the leap and “tell all”?

I don’t know where my openness came from. I’ve just never been shy about my personal life. I suppose I don’t think my personal life is interesting enough to keep a secret. To me, being into BDSM is like being gay. It’s simply me. How could I hide that? It breaks my heart that so many women writers feel like they have to hide behind pen names. We’re just perpetuating the cycle of shame and embarrassment. Liking sex should be as neutral as enjoying food. It’s natural, it’s healthy, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. There’s nothing wrong with keeping your private life private or writing under a pen name. But there is something wrong when women writers feel like they have to.

Given the success of Fifty Shades of Grey, what are your thoughts on so-called “BDSM-lite” hitting mainstream American readers?

One person’s BDSM-lite is another person’s hardcore. I’m always happy when any book gets non-readers reading and starts intelligent discourse about formerly taboo subjects. If people now feel safe to read BDSM erotica, that can only help a dirty little writer like me.


Quick Three:
Favorite book: The Keep by Jennifer Egan
Favorite drink: A spiked Shirley Temple
Favorite article of clothing: My Batman shirt as my boyfriend likes it so much. Good memories.


Tiffany Reisz lives in Lexington, Kentucky with her boyfriend (a reformed book reviewer) and two cats (one good, one evil). She graduated with a B.A. in English from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky and is making both her parents and her professors proud by writing BDSM erotica under her real name. She has five piercings, one tattoo, and has been arrested twice. 

When not under arrest, Tiffany enjoys Latin Dance, Latin Men, and Latin Verbs. She dropped out of a conservative southern seminary in order to pursue her dream of becoming a smut peddler. Johnny Depp’s aunt was her fourth grade teacher. Her first full-length novel THE SIREN was inspired by a desire to tie up actor Jason Isaacs (on paper). She hopes someday life will imitate art (in bed). 
If she couldn’t write, she would die.



******************************************************************************************
A huge thank you to Tiffany Reisz for taking time to be interviewed. For more on Reisz and her books, visit her website or follow her on twitter @tiffanyreisz
Read THE SIREN May 1st on your NOOK or KINDLE.

2 comments:

  1. I've seen a bunch of comments against Fifty Shades of Grey lately, partly against the lack of aftercare and how the heroine supposedly 'saves' him from the lifestyle. What do you think of comments like this? Does it hurt the erotica or is it still better to at least be in the discussion?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Any book discussion is a good discussion. It seems odd to me that Fifty Shades is getting the brunt of the wrath since there are so many other equally deserving targets out there. But Fifty Shades is also a huge bestseller so it makes it a bigger target.

    No matter how an author commits to accuracy, someone will read the story and say, "That's not right. That's not my experience. That's not how it works." People will take their own experiences as gospel.

    I don't like the idea of anyone being saved from BDSM as if BDSM were an illness instead of a sexual orientation. But Fifty Shades is a story, a work of fiction, and should be treated as such. That's all I ask for my own books.

    Thank you!
    Tiffany!

    ReplyDelete