Q: Thanks for sitting down for this interview, Diana. As we get started, let's take a moment to address the average person's perception about romance writers and romance novels. I think many people who aren't familiar with current trends in romantic fiction view it through the lens of the Harlequin stories of the 70's and 80's. When they hear the words "romance novel," they immediately think of those "bodice rippers" of yore in which the heroine is emotionally tortured by a cold yet handsome hero who ultimately marries her. But there are so many exciting categories of romantic fiction now. Things are a lot more interesting! The genre includes dozens of sub-genres -- everything from extremely light humorous stories with a Hepburn/Tracy style of comedic dialogue to "vampire romances" where the hero or heroine is nursing a secret need for blood. These are very different from the styles of past romance novels.

How would you classify your own romantic writing? You incorporate many spiritual and paranormal themes into your writing. One of your recent books is Soulful Sex: The Paranormal Collection, which contains three evocative tales with themes like mind over matter or "magic" and ghosts. Two of these are set in realms that read very much like alternative worlds, with bold strokes of fantasy fiction about them. But you have also just come out with Soulful Sex: The Science Fiction Collection, a new collection of stories with science fiction themes. How does what you are creating fit in to the overall landscape of current romantic fiction as it is being produced today? It seems like you are really exploring some new territory with your writing.

A: First of all, Jennifer, I want to say thank you for taking an interest in my work and featuring me on the site. I'm in some amazing company with the others you have featured here. It's a fantastic opportunity for me to introduce myself to the intelligent, creative, and perceptive people who are your regular visitors.

Okay, I'll start off by letting you know that I honestly have no background in the romance genre as it is usually typified. I've never read a Harlequin. I respect the popularity of category romance, I respect the readers...I'm just not a part of that demographic myself. If you had to put me in a clique, I'd be with the nerds and geeks who like "Battlestar Galactica," The Chronicles of Narnia, fantasy author Robin Hobb, and Alex Ross (graphic novels illustrator). I am a strange hybrid of science fiction fan and Broadway musical aficionado. So in my writing you often get imaginative, fantastic worlds, in which Rodgers and Hammerstein-esque romantic formulas play out.

I decided to write in the romance field because the subjects that fascinate me most are love and sex. I'm also pretty much into happy endings. So it seemed like the place for me to be, but at the same time, I worry about being a square peg in a round hole. This spring when I spoke at the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention, there were very few people on the program I'd heard of, and none I'd ever read--my fault, not theirs! Scary. But I hope the upside of this is that I bring a fresh perspective to the genre. With no exposure to the romance novel tradition, I necessarily do things differently.

Q: That's wonderful!  I'm a Narnia/Galactic type of girl myself. No wonder I like your stuff!  Now you have a new book out called Soulful Sex: The Science Fiction Collection. Tell us a little about it.

A: I've written several sci fi romances previously for other anthologies, but for this book I wanted to freely indulge myself by totally focusing on the science fiction genre. In an erotic romance sort of way, of course. I realize that the romance demographic and the sci fi demographic don't overlap much, but to me it was a natural thing for someone who writes about sex to do it in the context of sci fi. I grew up in the 60s and learned a lot of things about erotica from shows like "Star Trek," which had a lot of sex in it, racy SF movies like "Barbarella," and explicit authors like Harlan Ellison. The sexual content has always been high in sci fi, probably because the audience is largely male. And because of the imaginative, boundary-pushing nature of the genre, it explores some pretty interesting aspects of sex.

So for the three novellas in this collection, I thought it would be fun to do my own take on some classic SF/sex concepts. I've got the story "Alloy Love" which deals with a future without human sex (but done differently than, say, "THX-1138"), and explores sex machines (differently than, say, Woody Allen's "Sleeper"). But my take on these concepts is much more romantic. I use the situation to explore what elements make up human sexual enjoyment beyond simple sensation: engaging the soul as well as the flesh, if you will.

Then, I have the story "Claude's Laboratory" which gives you the classic hot alien (done differently than, say, "Earth Girls are Easy"), doing the sexual lab experiments (stuff they couldn't show you on "The X-Files"). But again, it becomes a real love story. And I threw I in the twist of setting the tale in 1871! My Victorian heroine finds herself really out of her element, but she fares quite well, in the adventurous spirit of Jules Verne.

For the third and final novella, I simply indulged my own desires and wrote an interplanetary sci fi adventure called "Spacewrecked with Joel Fennimore." I'm a huge fan of the "Survivorman" reality TV show, so I converted Les Stroud to an intergalactic survivalist named Joel Fennimore. It's a classic romance tale of a woman meeting her hero in the flesh--biographer Evie Perkins gets to record Joel's adventures. Then I toss in danger and disaster, all on a planet that imposes weird libidinous effects on the protagonists.

Sex and science fiction, always a tasty combo!

Q:  "Fascinating," as Spock would say! I think there is a big audience for writing that has a real sense of style and beauty about it, that isn't tied to the formulaic and dry tone of romance writing of the past. You often incorporate humor into your work, which is wonderful. Do you find it difficult balancing different tones when you write? Before you sit down to work on a book, do you have a specific plan in mind about the "ingredients" you plan to use -- coming up with a recipe like "two parts paranormal to one part sexy encounters to one part humor?" Or is this process more organic? I guess I'm wondering whether you do a lot of outlining before you sit down to write or if you allow the characters to tell you what needs to happen as you go along?

A:  A lot of the work happens subconsciously. But there is a lot of it that is very conscious, very deliberate. Both are essential to producing the kind of writing to which you refer. The imagination and subconscious create/access the characters and their world. Will and skill record and express the material. I am a huge proponent of editing; I polish and polish my work and then have an editor review everything as well. Badly written books typically suffer most from a lack of editing; the imagination is there but the writing is simply badly executed. That said, I know that without the imagination, you have no story to record, no characters to share.

Most of my fiction is novellas or shorter, and I don't outline them. I've found at least a little outlining is required with a novel length work. But to get to the gist of your question, I rely very heavily on the characters telling and showing me the story. I start with the germ of a plot and at least two key characters. I explore them and get to know them as vividly as possible. Then I let the story run its course in my imagination and do my best to convey it all on paper. It often seems as if I have little or no control over the story! If I get stuck, it's usually because I've tried to take over from the characters instead of letting them have their way.

You asked about the various tones I use. I think I do use an unusual number of different styles or "voices" in my stories. I've written a number of contemporary tales for which I use a "standard" sort of voice. I've written fantasies in which the language is somewhat richer and antiquated. I write mostly in third person but occasionally do first person so I can get the drama of a non-objective narrator. I wrote "The Vernal Night Trilogy" (included in Soulful Sex Volume II) in the spirit of Shakespearean comedies, lighthearted but rich in dialogue and vocabulary. And when I wrote "The Verity of the Vampyre" (Soulful Sex Volume III) I did my best imitation of the style of my idol Jane Austen, down to using the British spellings! I adopt my style and vocabulary according to the type of story I'm writing. All I can say about that is, it's more fun that way!

Q: After reading Soulful Sex: The Paranormal Collection, the main thing I was struck by was how true love -- a soul-based sensuality -- is used in your stories. I think it's great that as an author you are combining spirituality and sensuality, which is the way sex was always meant to be! A while back a reviewer from Fallen Angel Reviews wrote this about your work:

"Ms. Laurence writes beautiful love scenes that are as uplifting and tender as they are arousing. It's wonderful to find a writer who realizes that sex and spirituality are not mutually exclusive. Combining the two can be incredible." -- Fallen Angel Reviews

Is combining the two things intentional? Did you purposefully set out to create writing that took romance and elevated it to a sexy yet spiritual place? Or would you say this is just your natural style?

A:  Yes, yes, and yes! I use the brand "Soulful Sex" very deliberately, but at the same time it is my natural style. The best illustration of this is to tell you how I got started in this business. Back in 2003, I wrote a piece of erotic Star Wars fan fiction (there you go, sex and sci fi!) and posted it online. Next thing I knew, I was getting "fan mail" for this story. The story was sensually very graphic, but I am something of a prude verbiage-wise and I used tasteful language. I also expressed my own natural conviction concerning the essentially purity and goodness of sex. The style of the piece really worked for a lot of readers. I had written erotica for myself since I was a teenager, but it never occurred to me to do it for publication. Those emails encouraged me to try.

Since putting out my first collection, Soulful Sex: Erotic Tales of Fantasy and Romance, I've gotten a lot of mail from readers who found my approach to erotic material very refreshing and enjoyable. That's just kept me going. I guess I feel a bit of a calling to show the spiritual, sacred aspects of sex and romance that not too many other authors seem to express quite so passionately.

Q: However you came to do this, it sure works! Your writing is moving and compelling.

A:  Thanks so much, Jennifer! I'm very glad to hear that. One thing I've learned being an author, it takes all kinds to make a world. My style isn't for everyone, but I do feel there are a lot of readers like me who really enjoy sex but are not comfortable with much of erotic romance fiction today. I just wanted to give them this option, and the response really has been gratifying.

Q: I have a mystical theory about writers. Tell me if you agree (or disagree) with my premise. I believe that writers and artists of all kinds are very in touch with the intuitive side of life, and I believe that many artists are tapping into past lives (or alternate selves) when they do their work. I came up with this theory years ago when I worked as professional actress. There was a certain group of actors I knew that was so obsessed with the Renaissance period and the Tudor period of English history that they seemed to fit more into that time period than this one. Their creative work only really came alive when they were tapping into that particular period of history. It was as if they were accessing wisdom from an earlier era that was completely out of step with the person they were in this life.

For instance, one actor I knew was the son of a humble, blue collar family with zero interest in the arts or in English history. His dad was a truck driver and his mom was a housewife. Their son was an actor who had his doctorate in English history and was more comfortable discussing the customs and manners of that time than living in his present day life. To see him together with his parents was very weird - they were like different species! Knowing this man and others like him, I began to see that maybe certain artists are tapping into time periods or past lives other than this current reality.

Now - tell me if these ideas resonate with you at all? Have you ever believed that you lived in a particular era or country other than this one because you seemed to be so attuned to it, and if so, did you explore this in your writing?

A:  My internal jury is out on the subject of past lives. While it is not my favorite theory about the soul, at the same time I think it's possible. And if past lives are for real, then I would have to say I have some connection to indigenous tribes--it's just a feeling I have. Funny thing about that and my writing though: The one time I decided to write a tale about some sort of Native Americans, I was so daunted by the complexity of tribal society and history that I didn't even want to tackle it, I knew I couldn't do the subject justice. So I ended up doing a sci fi story (again!) called "The Frontier" (Soulful Sex Volume III) in which the "cowboys" were intergalactic immigrants from Earth and the "Indians" the natives of a technologically primitive but spiritually astute planet. I think my passion for the story's hero, essentially a Native American shaman, might possibly spring from a past life experience.

That said, I have no doubt that you are right that both authors and actors tap into "alternate selves." My particular outlook on spiritual matters is based largely on Jungian psychology. In the creative arts the imagination is necessarily employed constantly. And whenever that happens, we are naturally tapping into the subconscious, and beyond that, into the archetypal characters and concepts that inhabit the Unus Mondus, the shared realm of the Collective Unconscious. (I see Luke Skywalker in the audience raising his hand--Yes, Luke, I'm talking about the Force, LOL.)

Without doubt the main driving influence in my writing is my animus, the subconscious male counterpart of my psyche. To put it another way, he's my "imaginary boyfriend." He puts on different guises in my life, taking on the costume of one celebrity crush or another, or a movie or book character, or even someone I know in real life. He is a powerful creative force and also an inspiration. He plays the role of whatever hero I am currently authoring, and that is the heart of the power in that writing. The passion of the heroine for this character is always genuine because I very literally feel it myself.

I wanted to interject here that any readers interested in this topic--the "imaginary boyfriend" or animus, celebrity crushes, tapping into the subconscious for inspiration and energy, I have written a book on the subject called Living Beyond Reality: A Jungian Primer for Enhancing Your Life. More info and an excerpt are available here: www.dianalaurence.com/lbr_ce.html

Back to your question, I wonder if your actor friends were simply drawing upon powerful archetypes in their own lives--elements of history--when they felt these fascinations. It's possible. At any rate, I think we all have certain aspects of the story of the human race that have special meaning for us and inspire us. My personal favorites are indigenous tribal culture, the Medieval period, Regency England, and the future as envisioned by Gene Roddenberry, George Lucas, Joss Whedon, the creators of "Battlestar Galactica," and their ilk.

Q:  A lot of artists are interested in the paranormal, too, describing powerful past experiences of psychic perception, lucid dreams, astral travel, or encounters with ghosts. If you care to share - have any of these events touched your life? And if so, did you write about them in any of your stories?

A:  As much as I wish it were different, my psychic powers seem quite limited. However, I am a big believer in synchronicity, a concept explained by Carl Jung. Synchronicity is "meaningful coincidence," as in "signs." I couldn't begin to list all the examples from my life of coincidences having meaning for me or being guideposts in my life.

I have always been interested in the paranormal, particularly ESP, and have always wished I could read minds or have that sort of psychic connection with another person. This is reflected in several of my stories, particularly "Conjugals" from Soulful Sex: The Paranormal Collection. The idea of being psychically linked to your soul mate from before birth is very romantic to me. And I loved exploring what effect that would have on sex! My novel Souls' Embrace has a similar theme, and it also has definite elements of synchronicity in it.

Q:  Do you ever take inspiration from your dreams? Many writers report having occasional dreams which unfold like movies, and their challenge is to jot down the details before the dream completely fades from memory!

A:  On more than one occasion I have had a dream encounter with a male character that was so compelling I ended up patterning a character after him. I love it when that happens! But I don't really derive plot from dreams too often, maybe just a moment or scene. That said, I do however rely strongly on a form of self-hypnosis to tap into my characters and allow the story to unfold to myself. I'd say more than half the content of my stories is developed by this process. So that actually confirms your proposition: just another way of getting at subconscious material.

I honestly believe the characters conduct their business in my subconscious and I just have to extract from there what happens. It's the natural way the imagination operates.

Q:  I love your perspective on Jungian archetypes and the subconscious - I'd love to have you contribute a guest article about this at some point up ahead!  But let's talk a little about the format that you publish in.

At this point you have been publishing your books as eBooks, which is an exciting format for publishing. When someone purchases an eBook they can download it instantly and read it in a variety of formats - reading it on their computer, printing it out to read on paper, or even downloading it into a handheld eBook reader. What are your thoughts on eBook publishing and the future of publishing in this format? It seems to work really well for information style "how to" books, but some people don't realize that it works just fine for fiction, too. One aspect I love about eBooks is how you don't have to pay any extra shipping charges when you buy a book in eBook format. Plus you get instant gratification because you can pay for it, download it to your computer, and start reading it five minutes later!

A:  eBooks and POD print books (print on demand) have utterly revolutionized the publishing industry. They enabled many small publishing houses to start up, including my original two publishers, New Concepts Publishing and New Age Dimensions. These technologies are also the reason why I was able to assume publishing myself this year, via my own house, Living Beyond Reality Press. That gives me all the power and creative control over my work, a real boon. These technologies have allowed readers so many more choices then they had before. Authors like me would probably not be in print without them.

I personally love ebooks because they are cheap, instantly obtainable, easier to read than paper books, and easier to store and transport. I read ebooks on a nice little iPaq device.

So, my books are available in paperback (which of course still has more market appeal, and certain fine qualities!), as well as Microsoft Reader (lit) format, Adobe Reader (pdf) format, and Mobipocket. Mobipocket is going to become Amazon's format of choice--they recently discontinued all other types of ebooks much to my dismay, and still have yet to launch their Mobi offering. I hope it's soon! For those readers intrigued by my most recent collections but not into ebooks, the paperback of the combined Soulful Sex: The Paranormal, Science Fiction and Fantasy Collections will be released in February or March of 2007.

Q: You're also an artist. You've designed a really cool relationship tarot deck, available for purchase through your site. It's called Diana's Deck - romance fortune telling cards. Tell us a little about this relationship deck and what it is designed to do.

A:  Thanks, Jennifer! The cards in Diana's Deck are based on 47 of the characters in my books, with original portraits of each, and each character represents a certain concept or archetype relevant to romance and sex. The deck comes with instructions for romance fortune telling. Regardless of one's opinion of Tarot and fortune telling, the exercise has value because the cards tap into one's imagination and explore subconscious material that can be enlightening to the user. So if you creatively consider the concepts the cards present in a session, odds are you will learn something about your romance and sex life you may not have realized before.

They are also just fun...each tells a little bit about the character and includes a passage from his or her story. So fans of the books will find them especially enjoyable to own.

Q:  And the newest book that you've just released is Soulful Sex: The Science Fiction Collection. It can be downloaded in the same formats as your other books, right?

A:  That's correct. As of this interview, it's already available in lit and pdf for download from the Living Beyond Reality Press bookstore, or in Mobipocket format from the Mobipocket site. In a couple of weeks it should be available from other online bookstores like Powells.com. And the paperback will be coming in February, Lord willing and the crick don't rise!

Q:  Are you currently working on new stuff? Care to share anything about the themes or characters?

A:  You asked earlier if I ever derive inspiration from dreams, and I can give you a good example in my response. Most recently I had the dramatic experience of waking up one morning completely infatuated with Admiral Adama from "Galactica," who before that I simply thought was a really cool guy. I working on a story right now for my next book, Soulful Sex: The Fantasy Collection, which features a hero patterned after the Adama archetype. I just had to do it. Still, isn't it ironic that I was inspired by a sci fi character for a story in a fantasy collection? That's a twist, especially for me!

The archetype here really transcends genre, though: it's that age-old theme, the May/December romance. Adama is a Father Figure, and although so far the Galactica writers haven't used him romantically, as an erotic archetype he goes way back to Zeus. Or, more recently, Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre, a huge favorite of mine. At any rate, this is story set in an alternate world, a medieval type society. A young girl is rescued from rape by the son of the Chieftain, a renowned warrior twenty years her senior. She dedicates her life to one day serving him as a soldier, in a culture where women do not take part in the military. The novella covers her development into a woman and the stages of her devotion to this man, and his to her. It's tricky exploring such a relationship, without venturing into the father/daughter taboo, that whole Humbert Humbert and Lolita ick thing. But many of us women appreciate that the Father Figure can be very erotically powerful. For me that has certainly always been true, and my passion for the archetype will doubtless come through in this story.

So, the book will feature this tale and two more yet to bubble out of my unconscious mind!

Q:  That sounds like really rich territory to explore. I can't wait to read it! Until then, with the variety of books you have written and the fun relationship deck that you've already created, readers can find plenty of wonderful Diana Laurence products to enjoy right now. I encourage people to visit your site. They can even sample some of your writing for free on your site through your Living Beyond Reality Press project, right? Tell us more about this.

A:  A couple years ago I decided to do something a bit different and offer some of my works completely free in their entirety. Since I like fans more than profits, this has worked wonderfully well for me! I have published seven titles as part of the LBR Press READ FREE Project and offer them online in html, or downloadable in pdf, lit and Mobipocket ebook formats.

Among the offerings are some favorites of mine. The Golden Padawan is a complete short novel about original characters in the Star Wars universe (which is why it's free...don't want Lucas's lawyers after me). "Gift of Flesh" is a fantasy novella that is one of my personal favorites, a story of forbidden love and adventure with a couple of my best protagonists. "The Scarlet Shackle" was previously published by New Concepts Publishing, but I now offer it free; it's mild BDSM, a fantasy tale about dominance and submission that has been very popular with readers.

The other stories are the fantasy "Artemis in Love" (formerly published by New Age Dimensions), a contemporary with a vampyric twist entitled "Playacting" (formerly published in Suite magazine), the historical tale (medieval Scotland) "Tartan," and the seasonal piece "Secret Santas."

I invite your readers to visit www.livingbeyondreality.com for these treats!

Q:  I think that's great. I see that you're also a monthly columnist for eCataromance.com and novelspot.com, too. I thought your November column for Novelspot, "Erotic Stuff to Be Thankful For," (http://novelspot.net/blog/6) was hilarious. Readers can check out all of your columns at your Novelspot column "Explorotica"  (http://novelspot.net/blog/6) and your eCataromance.com column "The Life of e" (http://www.ecataromance.com/extras/life_of_e). Are there any other places where people can check out your writing?

A:  I'm glad you liked that column, Jennifer! That was a fun one to write, because I am thankful for erotic stuff! I've written lots of essays for various websites and there is a complete list with links on my website Works page www.dianalaurence.com/works.html. That's the easiest way to find ones on subjects of interest to you personally.

I'd also suggest to your readers that they check out my blog, "Erotica with Soul" (Erotica with Soul). About once a week I post another original essay about the erotic in life, drawing from pop culture and personal experience. I've written about everything from John Williams' music to baseball, and it's all about sex and romance and how to find erotic energy and inspiration in everyday life. I'm a big believer that by being aware of erotic energy, a person can be happier, healthier, more spiritually attuned, and more creatively productive, and that's the point of my writings in the blog.

A:  In the months to come, please do let us know when you've come out with new books or other fun products, because I'm sure my readers will want to know about them! In the meantime, they should check out Soulful Sex: The Paranormal Collection and your new Soulful Sex: The Science Fiction Collection, the free downloadable stories, and the relationship deck. Within a few minutes of browsing your website, I'm sure they'll be hooked on all things Diana!

Thanks again for joining us today and telling us a bit about your work. Best wishes for your continued writing success!

A:  The pleasure was all mine, Jennifer...what a fun exchange this has been! For a little more about my thoughts on sex and the soul, I'd recommend a visit to my website's Soul page www.dianalaurence.com. And while your readers are in the neighborhood, they can check out my Character Gallery, the "What Romance Type Are You?" quiz, the crazy gallery of photos of me in costume you can find on the Diana page, and more. And maybe sign up for my monthly newsletter, too!

Thanks so much for this opportunity to share my thoughts and hear yours. I hope your readers enjoy it as much as I did! And keep up the great work on the Lipstick Mystic, I'm a big fan.

Q: Thank you!

More About Diana Laurence:

Born and raised in the vicinity of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Diana Laurence got her Bachelor's degree in English from the University of Wisconsin--Madison. She broke into print at age 13 when she had a short story published in 'Teen magazine, and has been freelancing ever since.

Her work has appeared in such diverse publications as The Lutheran Witness and Beckett Hockey Monthly. She has been writing erotic romance as Diana Laurence since 2004; her first book Soulful Sex: Erotic Tales of Fantasy and Romance was an Amazon bestseller and a finalist in the prestigious Eppie Awards. Her other awards include a RIO for the short story "Je t'aime, Etienne," a Reviewers Choice Award from eCataromance.com for Soulful Sex Volume III, and 2005 Featured Author of the Year by The Romance Studio.

Diana is also the publisher/owner of Living Beyond Reality Press. When not holding down her day job as marketing coordinator for an industrial parts distributor, she enjoys webmastering (she operates the biographical tribute site of hockey legend Guy Carbonneau), gourmet cooking, jewelry making, drawing and painting. Diana lives with her husband David near Milwaukee, and has two grown daughters, Katie and Amanda, an artist and writer respectively. Please visit Diana at www.dianalaurence.com