An Interview with Tiffany Reisz (@TiffanyReisz)
I’m delighted to share this interview with Tiffany Reisz, ahead of the release of her latest book, The Red. I’ve got my copy and I can’t wait to get stuck in!
Tell us about yourself. Both your writing self and your non-writing self. What are your interests and hobbies? Do you have a day job, etc?
I’m the most fantastically boring person alive. Probably the main reason I can write so many books as I do not do anything else with my time. I read. I swim sometimes. That’s…about it. Everything else is writing, writing, writing. No day job. Takes away too much writing time. But I used to have a job at a bookstore. I had a job at many bookstores. Six, in fact. If I got a job again…it would be at a bookstore.
Give us the background on your latest release.
THE RED is kind of an odd book. It originally began as a fictional book in a novel I wrote called THE ANGEL, book 2 in the Original Sinners series. My main character Nora is an erotica writer and this was one of “her” books. Lots of readers asked me over the years if they’d ever get to read one of Nora’s books so I finally wrote it. It was a ton of fun writing a book as if I were Nora. It’s much filthier than “my” books and a bit stranger, too, believe it or not (and if you don’t believe it, read it and you’ll see I’m not kidding).
How did you get started with writing? And what was your route to publication like?
I’ve been writing since I was a little kid. I won a blue ribbon in the first grade for poems I entered in the Art Fair. In middle school I started writing scripts for TV shows I loved. In high school I wrote erotic poetry and fan fiction. I’ve always written all my life. I started writing my first novel THE SIREN back in 2003 and it took years for me to learn the craft of writing a novel so that book went through many many drafts. I had to completely rewrite to get my agent and I’m so glad I did because that draft has one of my favourite scenes in it I’ve ever written (the “I’ll fly” scene for Original Sinners fans). It took many years to get published but it was worth the wait.
What are you currently working on?
I just turned in my edits on a book called THE LUCKY ONES that will be out in February 2018. It’s a modern gothic suspense tale about a young woman who returns to the family that almost adopted her as a child thirteen years after she was forced to leave them. She discovers the idyllic childhood she remembers wasn’t quite what she thought it was…
Do you have a particular Muse for your writing? Do any of your characters bear startling resemblances to sexy celebrities or people you admire?
Everything and everyone comes straight from my imagination except for the settings. I love to visit the places I’m writing about and get the real nitty gritty of a setting down in the story. For THE NIGHT MARK lighthouses were my muse and I had a blast visiting as many of them as I could. The more real and grounded the setting it, the more wild and imaginative you can get with your story and characters and the book will still feel “real.”
Where do you see yourself in five years? Both writing-wise and non-writing-wise?
In five years I will still be writing a lot of books. Non-writing? Hmm…In five years I’ll still be too busy writing books to do anything non-writing. But maybe in five years I’ll be able to fit into my skinny jeans. Maybe if I write enough I’ll be too busy to eat.
And now for some silly questions…
Muscled or skinny?
Skinny.
Tall or short?
I’m five foot zero. Even short dudes are taller than I am.
Boxers or briefs?
Whatever floats his, um, boats.
Moustache or beard?
Five o’clock shadow.
Long hair or shaven head?
Long hair, no skinheads need apply
Tattoos or piercings?
Surprise me, sir!
Intelligent or funny?
Can’t be funny if you’re not smart!
Blond, brunette or red head?
Blondes. Cary Elwes started my blond fetish many moons ago.
Hottest celebrity (tell us why, if you like)?
Emily Blunt. My God, just look at her.
Top same-sex crush (or opposite sex if you already like same-sex!)
Same answer as above.
Favourite food
Addicted to Chobani Greek yogurt.
Favourite book (tell us why, if you like)
“All the King’s Men” by Robert Penn Warren. There’s never been a character more real to me than Jack Burden.
Favourite place in the world (tell us why, if you like)
I’d live in Key West, Florida if my husband would let me. He would not.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Read more books! And eat your yogurt. It’s good for you.
*****
Never make a promise you don’t intend to keep…
Mona Lisa St. James made a deathbed promise that she would do anything to save her mother’s art gallery. Unfortunately, not only is The Red painted red, but it’s in the red.
Just as she realizes she has no choice but to sell it, a mysterious man comes in after closing time and makes her an offer: He will save The Red if she agrees to submit to him for the period of one year.
The man is handsome, English, and terribly tempting…but surely her mother didn’t mean for Mona to sell herself to a stranger. Then again, she did promise to do anything to save The Red…
Excerpt: http://www.tiffanyreisz.com/the-red-excerpt
Buy links: Amazon | Amazon Australia | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | iBooks Australia | iBooks UK | iBooks Canada | Kobo
*****
Author Bio:
Tiffany Reisz is the author of the award-winning and international bestselling Original Sinners series from Harlequin Mira. She lives in Lexington, Kentucky with her husband, author Andrew Shaffer, and her two weird cats.
Facebook.com/LittleRedRidingCrop
Thanks again for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed this interview and wish you the best of luck with your latest release. Many sales!
Thank you, Lucy!
This is a project I’m very excited to be a part of. It’s my first published non fiction work, and it’s about possibly the most popular work of fiction in 2012. Lori Perkins has put together a fab book of essays on Fifty Shades of Grey, from writers, BDSM experts, agents and many others. My essay is written from the UK perspective, i.e. how the book has affected the erotica and erotic romance industry over here.
