Tiffany Reisz Interview Part 2

Posted September 20, 2012 by Literati Lovers in Author Interviews, Authors / 2 Comments

9780778313533_smp.inddWe hope you enjoyed Part 1 of our interview with our favorite Mistress, Tiffany Reisz. We bring you part 2 and this time we focus on The Siren. Enjoy!

What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why? What was the hardest?
Favorite part of THE SIREN was the 8th Circle scene. I loved tying the ends of every Søren and Zach scene to what was happening in the White Room with Nora and Michael. I had SO much fun in the 8th Circle from Søren’s reveal to him being all Dommy on Zach just to be an asshole to Nora being all “Oh no!” until the second she was alone with him and her turning into “Oh God, fuck me!” The whole thing was a mindfuck and those are my favorite.

The scene that was the most emotional for me to write was the “I’ll fly” flashback scene. The minute I wrote the words “Don’t say I ran from you. I didn’t run. I could never run from you,” the tears started. I wept huge great heaving sobs while writing that. I thought that scene would kill me. I have no idea where it came from. Pure catharsis writing that.

I know some people criticize The Siren because of its unconventional ending and dealings…do you think erotic fiction needs a happily ever after? Or do you think that a book can still be erotic fiction without it?
I don’t even think romances need cut and dried HEA. Jesus,we’re grown-ups. Surely by now we know not all love stories end with a couple riding off into the sunset. I’ve had great relationships that ended. Why does every damn story have to end with a cheesy HEA. My answer to people who demand simplistic happy endings is to not read my books. These books are part of a series. Stick around long enough and you’ll see a joyful ending BUT I will make the characters crawl through hell to get there.

If you had to go back and do it all over, is there any aspect of The Siren that you would change?
I use “was” too much in it. I’d do a lot of copyediting. That’s it.

Are there certain characters you would like to go back to perhaps in another book?
I’d love to give Sheridan a bigger book. She’s sex on two legs. I’ve had a lot of requests for more Sheridan time. Readers really dug my super kinky little blond.

Is there a theme or idea you’d love to work with or wish you had incorporated into The Siren?
I think I put everything AND the kitchen sink into THE SIREN. It probably has too many themes!

What character have readers asked you the most about? Which left an impression on them and did it surprise you?
I was surprised how much hatred some readers felt for Søren. I knew he’d be polarizing but I never imagined people would flat out think he was evil. Then I realized these readers have never hung out with sadists before. I have and they’ve all been fabulous men.

If you could describe The Siren in 3 words what would it be?
My Demon Baby.

What’s the one thing you want readers to walk away with after reading this book?
The desire to read everything I’ve ever written.

Did any of the characters surprise you as you wrote? For example you thought perhaps Zach would have acted this way, but instead he didn’t?
I was most surprised by Wesley. His connection with Nora went a lot deeper than I’d ever anticipated.

We know your inspiration for Zach, but did you have an inspiration for Søren? Is there an actor out there where you said: HIM?
Not while I was writing it. In my head he might have been vaguely a young Jeremy Irons. When I saw Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen I thought THAT GUY would make a great Søren as he’s so devastatingly handsome and REALLY scary.

What does Søren think about you? Would he want to hang out with you, the author, and his creator?
Søren loves me very much as he loves everyone. He’s a wonderful priest who sees people as children of God in need of care and protection. He would get VERY irritated at me for how judgmental I am of people. Søren is the kind of man who truly is disgusted when men or women slut-shame sexual active women. “Slut” is a term of endearment in his world. When it’s used as an insult, he gets NOT happy. Some of my readers who say they love Søren would probably get a stern lecture from him about how they judge Nora and her desires that he considers natural and a gift from God.

What’s a question you wish people would ask you about The Siren that they haven’t? How would you answer?
I wish someone would ask me if I thought THE SIREN has a happy ending. I would say YES! Unequivocally. I am a MINDFUCKER so don’t believe everything you think you know about what happens at the end. Also, the story goal was never “Nora finds true love.” The story goal was “Heal Zach and Nora gets her special book published.” Both goals are achieved. Is there collateral damage? Yes. Welcome to the real world. Will you see how happy the ending of THE SIREN is by the end of book four THE MISTRESS? Oh heck yes!

Did you learn anything from writing The Siren and if so, what was it?
I learned a lot actually. I learned that I wanted to be more like Nora. I gave her my personality but she gave me a lot of her courage. She’s brave and wild and I let myself be a little braver and wilder because I want to make her proud of me.

If your boyfriend (Who BTW is adorable. Don’t tell him we said that) had to pick Zach, Søren, Wesley or Kingsley for you…which one would it be and why?
Andrew Shaffer (author of 50 SHAMES OF EARL GREY – read this book as it is the funniest thing I’ve ever read) is my darling boyfriend. And he is SO Team Kingsley. He thinks Søren is too dangerous and he thinks Wesley is gay. Zach’s married and I’ve already met my husband stealing quota for one lifetime (long story 😉 ) so that leaves Kingsley. Andrew thinks Kingsley is my best character. A lot of women agree.

As a Catholic myself I totally loved this book (ah Kingsley my heart). Were you worried other Catholic women might see you as a heretic? Have other Catholic women come to you and said, “OMG! I love it?”
Yes, quite a few Catholics are totally fine with it. In fiction you see Catholic priests as villains and murderers, etc. At least my priest is a good priest who just happens to be a sadist who inflicts pain on consenting partners. One Catholic woman I know used to work for her diocese. She said it was an open secret one of the priests was a sexual submissive who frequented kink clubs. See? Truth is stranger than fiction.

Submissives tend to be categorized as weak but I believe they have more strength in order to truly submit. With that thought, how did Nora become such a strong and powerful Domme after being submissive for so long? Did you struggle with her transition?
Nora has always been Nora. Even at age 15 she was the one flirting with Søren while he tried to get her to behave herself lest he lose his mind. I’m a Switch and I’m the same person no matter what role I’m in. I think being a submissive to Søren made her stronger period. She learned to endure a lot, take a lot, face her fears, stand up for herself. Søren taught a feral young woman discipline and it’s that discipline that helped her become the writer she is.

I feel like the Catholic Church and religion became another character within each of their lives. Did you struggle with keeping this element present without allowing it to become too powerful?
It would be too easy to turn this into religious fetishism and do the Madonna/Lady Gaga thing where I use religious icons in a cheeky manner. I try not to do that mainly because Nora and Søren and even Michael are true believers. They respect their faith. It’s part of them but it’s not the only part of them.

Zach and Nora have a very unique relationship that is never truly defined; will Zach be making more appearances later in the series?
Absolutely. You’ll hear from Zach in THE ANGEL and see him again throughout book four THE MISTRESS. There are two Zach and Grace prequel short stories on my website with the other Freebies. Zach is the reason I wrote THE SIREN originally. And he and Grace still have a truly important part to play in this world—Grace especially. But no more spoilers…just you wait…

2 responses to “Tiffany Reisz Interview Part 2

  1. Mariana

    Hi there! Just whant to know how many books you have available to read and how many “almost”ready to read?…<3 the siren.

    • Elizabeth

      Ms. Reisz has several short stories on her blog http://tiffanyreisz.com/storytime/freebies-sextras/ that are meant to be read after reading The Siren. The Angel, which is book #2 in the Original Sinners series, is due to be released September 25th with the 3rd book, The Prince, due out November 20th of this year. She is currently writing book #4, The Mistress, and probably won’t be released until summer 2013. Hope this helped!

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