Hello, Angelica,
and a very warm welcome to The Naughty Pages. I’m thrilled to have you here
today to discuss your writing.
~So
Gentleman is your latest book, and is the third book in the Blue Moon House series.
How many books do you have planned for the series?
I hope to have one novella for each vampire,
which will make eight volumes in total. Each new book is a prequel to the one
before, until I get to the oldest.
~Can you
tell us a little bit about Gentleman?
Harrold is the vampire that chooses Julia, the
main character in the first Blue Moon House. This is his story. He lives and
empty life, with a loveless marriage. Unable to find fulfillment in his home,
he turns to whores to debase him. As his requirements of them escalate, one
whore refers him to Blue Moon House, where he can find what he seeks, and more
than he knew he needed.
~How about
a brief history of what has happened in the series so far (without giving too
much away of course!)?
Writing a series in reverse is an interesting
process. The original Blue Moon House has hints about each vampire’s past that
I attempt to pay off in that story, but I also know what is to come and can
plant pointers to the future, and books already published. Beginning in the
present day, Blue Moon House portrays a coven of vampires that are deeply
linked, both by their sexual desires for each other as well as their human
prey. Julia has to convince each of them that she is someone they want to
include in their family. Kitten tells the story of the next youngest vampire, Jocelyn.
She has a lesbian bend, but enjoys men very much, thank you. She has a dark
past that she must come to terms with if she is to grow beyond her submission
to one vampire and become a mate for all of them. Gentleman is Harry’s story.
Prior to that (time-wise) and soon to come, I hope, is Slave. Will is a
masochist in each of the prequels, a man who relishes in delivering pain, in
pushing his partner to his physical breaking point. His past explains how he
met the vampires of Blue Moon House, what he learned from them, and how he
became the fearsome man we see in the other books. That leaves four more
stories to come. Terrance is of Nordic decent and frequents the same whorehouse
as his father, Blue Moon House. When a fire robs the vampires of their home,
Terrance takes his inheritance and risks it all to move to America and reap the
profits of a growing community. He is also able to give the vampires a new
house where they can be more than mere whores. Nicholas is the second oldest
vampire, but joins the story after Lynn and Sophia. He is desperate to find a
way to live with himself after killing almost everything that has ever meant
anything to him. He loses it all one more time only to be saved by his new
vampire friends and lovers. Lynn is Sophia’s first vampire offspring. Working
in the same whorehouse as Sophia, she comes to know the vampire and her
loneliness. Although she tries many times to have a child, Lynn decides to give
up that chance to live on in the next generation and instead live forever with
her best friend. Sophia is the original vampire and director of Blue Moon
House. Her story will cover her escape during the murder of her vampire family,
her attempts to hide herself and her nature while running across continental
Europe, and her success in both hiding and feeing as a whore in London.
~So tell
me, what specifically do you write?
Specifically? That’s very difficult. I write a
wide range of fiction. I started two fantasies with erotic tones. Blue Moon
House delves a bit into historical. I have a military short as well as a New
Adult, Campus Sexploits story. I suppose, I write whatever my characters want
me to write.
~What type
of writer are you; do you plot it out or, like myself, are you a pantser? Is
being a pantser even an option for being a poet?
I’ve never considered myself a poet, but I am
absolutely a pantser. I am very character driven, and especially in the Blue
Moon House books, exterior characters have wormed their way into my stories and
become vital to the telling. I do plot, but in a very general and open sense. I
have a starting point, and end point, and one or more aims through the middle.
How I get from one to the next and who takes me there, is up for grabs.
~Why did
you first take up the pen, so to speak?
When I first read Twilight, I had a very clear
image for myself of Alice meeting Japser in the diner. It was so vivid that I
was compelled to write it. From there I wrote a plethora of fanfiction, mostly
for Twilight and honed my skill. My first original novel was written less than
a year after that and I gave up fanfiction three years ago when I decided to
focus on my own stories and characters. Blue Moon House was another story that
compelled me. The vampires and Julia were so intense, so fascinating, that I
couldn’t really do anything else until I got them out of my head. I wrote the
first draft, approximately 20 000 words, in one weekend. Then I took a deep
breath and sat on it for a few months before editing and later submitting it
for publication.
~Did you always
know you would write?
No, although I have been writing most of my
life. I used to write elaborate and fanciful things in grade school that blew
the doors off what my classmates were doing in terms of scope and length. In
high school, I wrote my first novella and started my first novel which I
finished before convocation from University. However, University was a very bad
time for me. It was when I really got hit with homesickness and a loneliness
I’d never experienced before. I felt isolated for the first time in my life and
it was then that depression sunk in and I had my first anxiety attacks. The middle
two years taxed me completely and I went into my final year utterly burnt. I
stopped writing then. I gave up any thought of doing a Masters’ thesis, which
had been appealing when I started my post-secondary education. Approximately a
decade later, the muse returned.
So, no, I didn’t always know, but in hindsight,
I probably should have expected it. J
~You write
specific genres; do you find them enjoyable to read as well?
As Angelica Dawson, I write specifically
erotica. I have another penname for young adult fiction, speculative fiction,
and fantasy. In terms of erotic subgenres, I am most fond of BDSM and menage.
These two let me explore love and sex between several people, through pain and
learn what might be going through the heads of some of the people enjoying the
lifestyle. Unfortunately, I am very picky about reading erotica. Most of what
I’ve found is too blatant, too graphic, too physical. I want to make my head
work. I want to see how the sex affects the personality, the relationship, the
world around them. I want the sex to drive the story, not simply be added to
make it steamy. The type that turns me off the most are those where the lovers
are not being respectful of one another. Aggressive male figures that demand of
newly met women something only a partner who actually knows her should be. I
look at their actions and think, “what a jerk! She should kick him in the nuts
and walk out” but of course, she is completely drunk on his power. *eyes roll*
It’s not only men over women. I’ve seen m/m stories that aren’t so different,
menage where the third party is held in rather than drawn or enticed. I worry
about what people are taking away from these stories.
~As a
writer, who is an idol of yours?
Robert Jordan, from my fantasy/scifi side. He
has such an elaborate story/world/magic system. I have found that, as a
pantser, this is the one thing I cannot do. I can explore a world and try to
make it broad and deep, but that takes a lot longer than writing a novella or
single novel. I’m still working on one.
~Is it the
same person for you as a reader? If not, who is your favourite author to read?
Yes, I do love reading the Wheel Of Time books
as well as many other fantasy and speculative fiction authors
~Are the
any shoutouts you’d like to make?
Yes. I’m part of three weekly blog groups,
Tantalizing Tuesday, Thursday Tastes and Flasher Fiction Friday. My blog is http://angelicadawson.blogspot.com/
The ring leaders for these are Naomi Shaw and Muffy Wilson. The pair of them
have been a huge buoy for me. Pablo Michaels is also a key supporter of my
writing and I am grateful to him for that. I’d also like to mention Gina
Kincade, my publisher. I have nearly given up writing and publishing a dozen
times since Blue Moon House was accepted for publication. She has had faith in
me when I have none in myself. I would not be releasing Gentleman without her.
Please also
include any photos, links and excerpts you wish to include.
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Excerpt:
“Harrold, this
is Percival Jackson and his wife Priscilla.” He clasped Percival's hand and
nodded to the elegant woman next to him. Her gown probably cost twice what
Veronica's did, something she was sure to complain about later. Veronica
introduced him to two more pairs, all emigrated from England with substantial
inherited wealth. She might not meet his expectations sexually, but Veronica
was exceptional at getting her foot in the most exclusive doors. It had proved
financially beneficial in the past.
After standing
by her side through several inane conversations, Harrold's attention began to
waver. Gazing over the assembly, he paused to admire several bodices and more
than one cinched waist. Having a wife gave him respect and
position, but Veronica took no offense at his wandering eye. If anything, she
encouraged it, eager for him to find another bed.
The woman who
drew his attention most wore a fitted dress with short sleeves, her arms bare
down to her fingertips. That was probably why she was surrounded by men, each
taking his turn holding her hand and kissing those fingers. She looked his way,
and he found himself unable to break the gaze. Minutes later, he glanced her
way again and admired her throat as she tipped it back, laughing —no necklace.
Obviously she wasn't the wife of any of the guests: they wore gloves and
necklaces as well as ornaments in their hair. She was still smiling when she
met his eyes again, holding his gaze like it belonged to her. She blinked and
turned, speaking to the gentlemen surrounding her before leaving them and
striding in his direction.
“Follow,” she
said when she came near, walking right past him.
He didn't excuse
himself to his wife or her friends. None of them seemed to take any notice.
Veronica didn't break in conversation, covering his withdrawal. The bewitching
woman looked over her shoulder and seemed unsurprised to see him there. Her
eyes drew his attention, glittering shards of topaz or amber. They seemed to
glow unnaturally in the lamplight. She led him down a corridor and opened a
door next to a pair of chatting women. Both watched them, but neither said a
thing.
“You are a
difficult man to get a hold of, Harrold. I don't think I like that,” she said
as she strode to a trimmed lamp and opened it, casting the room in a gentle
glow.
“Pardon, madam,
but I'm sure I'd remember if I made your acquaintance.”
Full red lips
pulled up on one corner in a smirk. “You had better believe you would.” Her
lusty tone told him much. “We haven't met,” she said, circling him. “I'd been
informed that you were in need of my services.”
Harrold's brow
furrowed. What woman provided a service he needed? What service...?
A light shone
behind his eyes just as she said, “Delores was quite insistent. More than is
proper. I had to set her down for that.” Lynn, for that must be who this woman
was, regarded her painted nails. “She enjoyed that, I think. Would you?” She
glanced at Harrold from the corner of those oddly sparkling eyes.
“Would I what?”
He was completely flustered. How had a whore gotten into this party?
Her palm slapped
across his face. It was a sensation he was familiar with. Many ladies had
spurned his advances when he was younger. However, this woman had a stronger
arm than any of them. This pain rivaled that of the time his cousin had punched
him in the jaw for dandling his lady.
“You will pay
heed when I speak. Would you enjoy being reprimanded by me?”
The suggestion
alone made him burn. She was the ideal woman, strong, in complete command, not
only of him, but every man at the party. Her force of presence bested that of
most of the men he had met. He would love to obey her commands, especially if,
as he suspected, they were anything like Delores'.
Her arm moved
fast, spinning around to come up between his legs. He gasped in surprise and
then winced as she squeezed him in her hand. The pain made his eyes water.
“You will not
hesitate to answer, either.”
“Y-yes, madam,”
he said through clenched teeth.
“Better.” She
eased her grip, fondling him, massaging one nut and then the other before
running a finger up his length.
“Despite putting
me at such inconvenience, I believe Delores is right.” She pulled her hand back
with a sigh. “Before we go any further, however, I need you to agree to the
following terms.” She pulled up the drawstring at her belt to access her small
purse. Unfolding a square of paper, she revealed a simple contract.
The below signed agrees to keep the confidentiality of Blue Moon
House and share with no one the activities therein.
