diana

Denise: What does your writing offer readers? How do you make your writing "beautiful, tasteful and innocent while still being graphic and arousing?

        Diana: First of all, I understand the kind of erotic writing that reinforces positive human experience, things such as intimacy, trust, mutual understanding, and emotional union. I'm not saying everything I write is missionary position between husband and wife, far from it; but sex in my stories always involves people growing spiritually, or coming together, or learning positive things about the human psyche and about life. Secondly, I am particular in my use of language. I'm delighted to describe just about anything in as much vivid sensual detail as possible, but I won't use words or style that is slang-y or distasteful. After all, I'm trying to make sex beautiful and moving. So readers who are turned on indiscriminately by certain words might want to look elsewhere! But readers who have a romantic bent and like to feel comfortable reading the graphic passages, I think these stories may be for you.

Denise: Who are your favorite authors?

        Diana: Certain authors have influenced me a great deal. I just finished writing a trilogy of stories for my next book that seems to use an interesting combination of elements from Jane Austen and Shakespeare. I love the witty, eloquent dialog of Austen’s books and often have my characters speak that way. Meanwhile, this trilogy is in the classic style of the Bard's comedies: after many misunderstandings, love works out in the end for everyone involved, with some very amusing events along the way.

My favorite contemporary author is fantasy writer Robin Hobb; I love to create worlds and cultures as she does, and to integrate elements of magic and paranormal phenomona. I'm also a huge fan of comic book author Terry Moore (the "Strangers in Paradise" series), who knows how to work with the quirks of human nature to create fascinating conflict and melodrama. My ideas on sex are strongly influenced by the writings of psychologist Carl Jung and philosopher Thomas Moore ("The Soul of Sex"). Other than that, I enjoy Stephen King, Ayn Rand, John Updike, and classic works of romance and science fiction.

Denise: Tell us about "Soulful Sex: Erotic Tales of Fantasy and Romance." Can you give us a teaser for each of the stories without giving away the plot?

        Diana: Sure can! The book is a collection of six very different stories, written in a variety of styles. In "Pints," it is the vampire's victim who tempts him to give in to his dark side. In "Between Earth and Sky," a young woman escapes death only to wrestle with her feelings for her rescuer. In "Abigail's Archer," lovers meet and woo in a medieval wood touched by strange magic. In "Office Mating," two co-workers with a great rapport find it leads them to do the unthinkable. In "Real Magic," a magician with unique talents reveals his secrets to a special woman. In "The Dark Prince," evil seeks to conquer good in order to save a princess from a terrible curse. "Soulful Sex" explores timeless, archetypal themes of desire, intimacy, submission, conquest, and the union of souls through erotic experience. It is currently available only as an ebook, but will be out in print sometime this spring.

Denise: Do you feel women have become more comfortable reading erotica? Selecting it at the bookstore still makes me blush.

        Diana: I still hear from a lot of readers who are shy about it, which is one of the reasons I think ebooks are a great idea: you can purchase them anonymously over the web, and you can read them without anyone seeing the book cover! But at the same time, a large portion of women really do enjoy some kind of erotica, which is understandable considering how important sex is in our lives. I do feel though that its very hard to find erotica that doesn’t make the reader feel a little, well, sordid at times. That's why I realized there was a niche for my writing. I also felt it was important to put the word "soul" right in the title, and to have a cover that was beautiful and tasteful rather than what you so often see on erotica covers. I want readers to see right off that this erotic writing is going to make them feel uplifted.

Denise: Have you ever written about the darker side of desire?

        Diana: I certainly have. There is a darker side, and that is as important to the human psyche as the bright side. For example, my vampire story "Pints" has been very popular with readers, because I think on a subconscious level we all feel the dark side must be dealt with as well. The vampire Anders is a "good" vampire who has always eschewed drinking fresh human blood as well as becoming emotionally involved with people. When he lets himself fall for Eliza, she is passionately driven to explore his entire psyche, including the vampire side that embodies his lust and hunger. She recognizes that she cannot know all of Anders without knowing that part as well. Meanwhile, my novel "Souls Embrace" is all about the difference between negative and positive manifestations of sex.

Denise: Tell us about "Soul's Embrace," which was also published by New Age Dimensions.

        Diana: It is a paranormal spicy romance novel, set in a fantasy world with a medieval feel. In the story, Mauren has found the perfect man, but only in spirit. The enigmatic soldier Kier visits her mind nightly, but then mysteriously loses contact with her. In Mauren's quest to find Kier, she meets the charismatic Master Xiturias, a man of great psychic power. As Mauren falls more and more under the Master's spell, it could mean the end of hope for her and Kier. The question is, will Mauren choose the sacred devotion to her ideal soulmate, or fall prey to the irresistible allure of a magical sage determined to possess her? This book was truly a joy to write because all three main characters are really fascinating to me. There are a lot of very intense sex passages, interesting scenes involving telepathy and other psychic powers, and wonderful fantasy elements like swordfighting and magic talismans and legends. "Souls Embrace" is available in ebook and trade paperback formats.

Denise: What do you like about the e-book format?

        Diana: I just wrote a column on this subject in which I give my 12 reasons why ebooks are better than print books and that says it all. But in a nutshell, they are easier to buy, to read, and to store. They are cheaper to produce and purchase, and the royalty percentage is higher for the author too! I think the best testimony I can give is that I received a Robin Hobb book in paperback for Christmas, and I also got an iPaq (a type of PDA, or Pocket PC) for ebook reading. I spent the entire month of January discovering how wonderful it was to read on my iPaq and couldn’t bring myself to pick up that paperback. Finally I went to Amazon and bought the same book in MS Reader so I could read it electronically!

Denise: Share with us some of the feedback from your readers and those that have reviewed "Soulful Sex."

        Diana: First of all, let me say as much as I thought there was a market for my writing, I have truly been stunned by the success of "Soulful Sex." It was released in March 2004 and by August had risen to bestseller status on Amazon. For over six months now it has remained pretty consistently in the top three romance ebooks and never left the top ten, and has been #1 ebook anthology for the entire time. Meanwhile, it is a Finalist in the anthology category of the 2005 Eppie Awards, the Oscars for ebooks.

        From Fallen Angel Reviews: "While the sex is described in detail, there is absolutely nothing obscene or offensive in any of these short stories. Ms. Laurence writes beautiful love scenes that are as uplifting and tender as they are arousing. Several passages literally took my breath away. It's wonderful to find a writer who realizes that sex and spirituality are not mutually exclusive. Combining the two can be incredible."
From Love Romances: "If you are looking for a book containing true romance, sinfully hot love scenes with out the vulgar words or slang so commonly used today, hero's that are strong yet tender when the need arises and heroines full of spunk and desire, then Ms. Laurence's 'Soulful Sex' is just what your mind, body and soul have been searching for."
         From Sime~Gen: "...a delightful collection of some very sexy novellas that show how soulful sex can be...a highly entertaining, very erotic, and extremely intelligent look at sex and the bonds that form between people who share such an elemental connection. I can't wait to read more by this excellent author.
        And this from a reader: "This was so formidable a piece a writing that I kept reading and thinking out loud...How does she do this? The total surrender that such sexual passion calls from us is fascinating to me...and you really understand that. Who needs Anne Rice?"

Denise: Do you write full-time or part-time? What's the most difficult part of writing for you? How are you promoting your books? How can we order them?

        Diana: I have a day job in marketing, so alas, I write part-time. So I guess the most difficult part of writing is that I wish I had more time to do it! I promote constantly on the web, via my website (www.dianalaurence.com) and any other venue I can find. I write two monthly columns, one for eCataRomance on the ebook industry, and one for Novelspot on erotica. I also submit features to websites whenever I can and they are pretty much always published. I do a lot of online interviews too. And of course, I'm always seeking reviews for my books. I have a monthly newsletter. I'm a member of All Star Scribes and of EPIC (the Electronically Published Internet Connection). I think the most unusual way I promote is through my Living Beyond Reality Press READ FREE Project. LBR Press is my own little publishing house, and through that I occasionally publish my works for free distribution. I currently have an erotic fantasy novella available called "Gift of Flesh" as well as a short Star Wars novel called "The Golden Padawan, with more works coming out this year. Just visit www.livingbeyondreality.com for more information.

        My books are available online from places like Amazon, Borders, Target, Barnes & Noble, Fictionwise, Powells, and Books-a-Million and Living Beyond Reality Press .

Denise: Tell us about "The Life of e" column on eCataRomance? Is this something new for you? What does the website offer?

        Diana: Actually I have been writing that column monthly since April 2004. I explore various issues concerning ebook writing, reading, and publishing, with a bit of a humorous bent. eCataRomance is a website about romance books available in ebook format, and offers interviews, reviews, articles, contests, excerpts, and discussion about topics of interest to fans of the genre. It's a great site.

Denise: Any advice for authors interested in writing erotica?

        Diana: This is a booming market and there are a lot of publishers looking for erotica. But my personal feeling is that there is a lot of poorly written, barely edited, shabbily published erotica in the ebook market that I fear brings down the image of the genre. So for purely selfish reasons, I urge those interested in publishing erotica to put out a quality product that you can be proud of. You may be able to find a publisher for lower quality work, but that doesn't mean you will be able to feel pride in your accomplishment. The next few years will tell the tale of whether or not epublishing can earn a good reputation with the reading public; it's up to authors and publishers to see that it does! I'm grateful to all the people in this business who are striving to make that happen.

Denise: Future writing projects?

        Diana: Due to the popularity and success of "Soulful Sex," I was bound to write a sequel! "Soulful Sex Volume 2" is slated for a March 12, 2005 release, the anniversary of the first book's release date as well as the publisher's first anniversary. I can't say how excited I am to release this book. It includes a fantasy, a contemporary, and a science fiction story, as well as a trilogy of fantasy stories called the Vernal Night Trilogy of which I am extremely proud. Sometime after the release of the ebook, New Age Dimensions is going to publish the two volumes in one trade paperback, which will be very exciting as well. And meanwhile, I've already begun work on Volume 3!

        2004 was my first year publishing romance, and I'm just thrilled about the success I've had so far. 2005 looks to be even better! Thanks for the opportunity for this interview and the chance to introduce myself to more readers and fellow authors via the Gotta Write Network.