Mitzi told me a few days ago that: "With Red Velvet and Absinthe, I wanted to pay homage to the Gothic tradition, which I've been a huge fan of since childhood. It was my goal to offer atmospheric and steamy stories that draw on this rich literary tradition and, in the interim, remind readers exactly where the paranormal romance genre really came from."

It just now occurred to me that atmospheric and steamy go together beautifully, along with misty. Steamy can be an atmosphere all by itself. less

I agree, that makes it so much more interesting! The characters really seem vivid and stick with you long after you go to bed. I really like the second story the best! I don't remember the title, but it's about a warewolf that gets found by a researcher less

Sometimes writers start out with characters, and sometimes with settings (and sometimes, even in erotica, with plots.) It's amazing what the mind can do with even subtle prompts from the surroundings. I asked Giselle Renarde (who can't be here tonight because she volunteers at a battered women's home) about her story "Milady's Bath, and she said:

I wrote Milady's Bath last year at Christmas-time, while "vacationing" at the house I grew up in. My mother's house isn't exactly a gothic setting, except in that it's full of empty rooms. Only one of my siblings still lives at home, and my mother let the rest of our old bedrooms fall into disuse. My childhood room doesn't have a bed in it anymore--it's just full of boxes--so over the holidays I took over one of my sisters' bedrooms. I wrote Milady's Bath sitting at the rather ornate desk she'd left behind, and looking out across the snowy expanse of a mid-winter yard. less

I think Zander Vyne is going to join us--hey Zander, are you out there?--but I got a fascinating account of how she came to write "La Belle Mort" and the imagery that inspired her:


Zander Vyne

How I came to write La Belle Mort - Inspiration comes from so many places, and usually I recall exactly what inspired me but not in this case. All I know is that I read something, somewhere about a hangman visiting condemned women and giving them red ribbons for their hair. I don't know if this bit of info was stumbled upon doing research for some other project, or if it was from a poem. I just know something about the imagery of that harbinger of death giving those trailing red ribbons to women he was going to have to hang chilled me, and I kept coming back to the image until I figured out a way to incorporate it into a story. The theme and setting allowed me to explore some very dark themes like breath play.

Lure of the Gothic theme - I write a lot of Gothic, horror, erotica. I like to write what I enjoy reading and these have always been favorite genres. I enjoy darker themes, a bit of a scare, and not-so-happily-ever-af ter endings. I feel horror writing often explores head-on issues other genres ignore. Similar to good sex writing, horror and Gothic writing is difficult to nail. It's designed to provoke emotion and feelings beyond warm and fuzzy and safe. I like that and find it challenging and satisfying to write.

When I sent this story to Mitzi for consideration for Red Velvet, my own short story collection was being edited for publication by my publisher. I held this story back from my own anthology because I felt it was important it have the right audience. I'm glad I did. [A bit snipped to avoid a spoiler for those who haven't read it.] Mitzi isn't like most editors. She doesn't shy away from literary, different or shocking, and she felt the dark theme was just right for Red Velvet. I'm so glad she did, and am honored to be between the pages with so many other talented writers with equally unique works. less