Welcome back with another round of seven questions with Selah Janel! This month my victim is the lovely Alexandra Christian. I've known Lexxx for a while and am always in awe of how well she mixes romance with horror, erotica with smart characters, and sassy humor with everything. Here's what she had to say...
SJ: What author, living or dead, do you just want to punch in
the face and take their place? Who has so much talent that you just can't stand
it?
AC:Most definitely
Stephen King. If there was a demonic
force that would allow me to switch evil genius brains with him, I would be
hard pressed not to take him up on the offer.
King’s gift for description and characterization is something that I
both envy and strive for. He’s what I measure myself and other authors by. …but no pressure…
SJ: It’s your funeral, and the only thing people are talking
about is your writing. What kind of creative legacy do you hope you leave
behind?
AC: I would hope that
people would say that I brought legitimacy to the erotic romance genre. That my stories were not only sensual, but
also smart, funny and well-crafted.
SJ: Since you focus on erotica writers, do you think they're
perceived as being really down-and-dirty, or all y'all just human like the rest
of us?
AC: I think that there’s
this fantasy that all erotic writers are one of two things. Either we’re all these smoldering sexpots
that write fictionalized versions of our own sexual escapades OR that we’re all
crazy cat-ladies writing dirty books on our lunch breaks from our jobs at the
local library. I like to think that most
of us are like me: somewhere in
between. I am highly imaginative, sexy,
flirty, smart, classy, goofy and generally a nice girl. I think that if you write erotic romance or
erotica, it’s kind of your responsibility to act like an intelligent, classy
and talented author so that all of us will be taken seriously. I have witnessed an awful lot of authors who
put this “down and dirty” image out there and then get upset when they 1—get treated
like a bimbette who is writing garbage and 2—get disgusting propositions from
creepers on social media sites. If you
want to be taken seriously as an author then you have to project an image of
being a serious author.
SJ: If you were stranded on a desert island with three
characters you've written, who would you: 1. want around to help you survive 2.
want around to populate the island with 3. want around in case you need to
resort to cannibalism.
AC: Hmmm…. I think I’d
want Sascha from Beast of Burden to help me survive. She’s such a strong and ingenuous person that
I think she could help us slaughter animals for food and build a bamboo
hut. When I got ready to repopulate, I’m
not sure who I’d pick. I’ve written so
many sexy heroes that I’d be hard pressed to choose. Andre from the Strange Bedfellows
series and Seth from Sanguine Kiss are amazing lovers with their vampire
stamina, but of course, they wouldn’t be much good for repopulation. And then Jack Leannan from Second Skin
could help me spawn a race of Selkies that would take over the island. As for
resorting to cannibalism, Saraqael from my first novel, Hellsong, would
be the best choice. Duh—he’s an
angel. He’s got wings. He could fly us right outta there….
SJ:What genre do you really want to write in that you
haven't gotten a chance to yet?
AC: I’d really like a high
fantasy. Something straight out of Lord
of the Rings with elves and dwarves. I
think the world-building would be so much fun.
Of course, for me the hardest part would be keeping the romance out of
it…
SJ: What author do you feel is the hidden gem in the world
today?
AC: You, of course, Selah!
Seriously, I think that all of my writer friends are amazing talents that
haven’t been fully realized by the world just yet. I always gravitate toward people that are
incredibly talented storytellers. Tally
Johnson, Susan H. Roddey, Crymsyn Hart, Selah Janel, Stephen Zimmer and Lucy
Blue are among my favorite “unknowns.”
SJ: Why MMP? What's your favorite part about working with
them?
AC: I met the publisher at
MMP, Nicole Kurtz, at a convention a few years ago. She had such a clear vision about where she
wanted MMP to go and the types of authors she was looking for that I
immediately wanted to help her on the path to world domination. She had a great business plan that was about
being profitable for everyone, but also helping to nurture good authors. My favorite part about working with MMP so
far has been all of the wonderful people I’ve met who are so helpful and
supportive.
