As you guys saw a short while ago, I was able to get my hands on an ARC of Slow Satisfaction, book 3 in the ‘Struck by Lightening’ Series, and I was fortunate enough to chat with the author Cecilia Tan for a bit.
Me: Thank you so much for the time today – now that we’ve come even further in the journey with James and Karina, I wanted to talk a bit more about you and what you do. How did you get started writing in this genre and when did you decide that it was something that you wanted to do? (write and write the style)
Cecilia: I’ve literally always written erotic stories and stories about love, from my earliest childhood attempts to write. Long before I ever read any erotic fiction, I was writing the sex scenes I thought were missing from books. I didn’t read my first romance until I was in college and I didn’t start reading erotica until after I had published my first book of erotic short stories, Telepaths Don’t Need Safewords, back in 1992. I thought I was going to be a science fiction writer, and I tried writing a lot of stories in that genre, but when I wrote Telepaths Don’t Need Safewords I knew I was doing the right thing. I’ve never looked back. That was 22 years ago and I’ve been writing erotic BDSM fiction ever since.
Me: That’s quite a jump from sci-fi to erotica, but i can see why one category is more enticing for lack of a better word to write. I’m thankful for the change in direction at least, and I’m sure a lot of readers are. Where did you get your inspiration from for the characters? The Artist who wants to get away from it all and the Girl trying to find herself?
Cecilia: When you put it that way, they’re both aspects of me! The Artist wants freedom to create but he’s always trying to figure out how much of himself to reveal through his art, how much to give to the fans who love him. James guards his heart very fiercely but ultimately comes to decide that the reason he’s been doing that is he’s been waiting for someone like Karina to give it to, someone who can love him for who he is inside. The Girl trying to find herself is trying to find that balance between pleasing others and pleasing herself. Ultimately she finds she can’t do a good job of pleasing others unless she knows her own preferences first. That’s not only true in the bedroom (and the dungeon) but in other aspects of life, as well. As a romance writer I’m always balancing how much of my own heart to put into my books and what things I like with the needs and expectations of readers.
Me: I certainly follow you on that one, with the dichotomy of both characters -and being able to pull something of yourself really shows in the way that you wrote both characters, since they have a depth and personalization that makes it seem more real than fantasy. Are any of the other characters based loosely on yourself or friends/family?
Cecilia: My friends and family are great but they don’t make good characters. Every character springs into my mind with a lot of backstory and baggage ready to be unpacked. Each one represents something in my subconscious, not in my real life.
Me: I’m sure a few folks that you are close to are breathing a sigh of relief on that one. that could lead to trouble either for someone taking a scene the wrong way or being overly complemented. Looking outside of inspiration, let’s go to motivation and advice. What advice would you give someone who wants to be an author?
Cecilia: Write, and then get feedback on what you write. Whether that’s through a class or MFA program or writers group or fanfic community, use that feedback to find out for yourself what effect your words have on people. Your craft is about mastering those words so that the effect you create in the reader is the one you intend. You can only learn that part of the craft by getting feedback. That’s how you’ll refine your unique voice.
Me: Well thanks again for taking the time to chat with me, and I’m sure that my readers appreciate it as well. I can’t wait to see what’s next and I wish you the best of luck. Congrats with this latest installment in the Struck by Lightening’ Series, and I have to say, you gave us exactly what we were hoping for as things come to a head with the characters.
To my readers- make sure to pick up a copy of ‘Slow Satisfaction’
and don’t forget to Enter the Giveaway Here for a signed copy of the trilogy!