Interview with Shiralyn Lee 18 August, 2012

Shiralyn Lee

About Shiralyn

Born in England I immigrated to Canada with my wife in 2007. This is where my first novel was created. Loving the Pink Kiss, a romantic lesbian comedy. From there I have written a short story, Cherry Knocking, an erotic short tale about Ash. I have several stories that I am currently working on and my next novel, Pink Crush, is based on a lesbian firefighter living in London England. I now live just outside of Vancouver BC where I get my inspiration from. I am a true romantic at heart but I also love to write erotic stories so I tend to combine the two together.

My list of works now include,

Sex, Bondage and Branding
Sex, Power and Intimacy
Sex, Ropes and Chains
Vampire Changeling
Erotic Spirits
Pink Seduction

Thank you Emily for allowing me this opportunity to share with everyone.

When did you first decide you wanted to write?

It was about 4 years ago now; I steadily grew frustrated when all of my favourite programmes ended on T.V never to make another season. Annoyed at the lack of anything in the lesbian genre my wife challenged me to write my own story…so I did. J I chose to write a lesbian comedy, Loving the Pink Kiss, it’s kind of based on mine and Janice’s life. It’s about an immigration scam (may I add that this is not how I met my wife and that our relationship was legit and still is. And our bond grows stronger every day.) With that statement over, the book includes so many pieces of our lives and our friends too.

Did you get nervous the first time you put your work out there?

Oh big time!! This was my baby and not knowing how people were going to respond to it made me feel sick but also at the same time the excitement of having my work out there for all to read was just so overwhelming. I put this book in the hands of a vanity publisher and will soon be claiming it back (September) and republishing to join the rest of my collection and then I’ll have total control over it.

What is your favorite genre to write?

This is a tricky one. Hum, I think as I will always write lesbian erotica, (my favourite of anything) I would have to say that I love to write drama. There is just something about it that I can really get stuck in to giving my characters some flare! My second book, Pink Crush, is an ideal example of that.

What is your favorite genre to read?

Most of my collection contains comedy, drama and erotica. I suppose you could say I am what I read.

Do you have a favorite author?

Pat Kalifia, author of Macho Sluts, she writes the best lesbian BDSM and erotica I have ever read. But when I’m not in the mood for all of that hardcore in your face sex I love to read…Sophie Kinsella and Emily Griffin romance novels. (Oops the cat’s out of the bag on that one.)

Is there something you want to write about but haven’t yet?

I am currently working on two stories at the moment…CRAZY!! I hear you shout. Well let me tell you; when I feel the need to get that story out, I have to write it there and then whilst the passion is still in my blood. The first one is a football themed one, She’s on the Ball. The story revolves around Jacks, she has been with her girlfriend on and off for two years. Thinking that they are ok she receives a slap in the face situation after one of her matches that will cause a whole twist of events to unravel. The second story that I am working on, Lesbian in Question, is about a woman in her late 20’s waking up in an apartment that she doesn’t recognize and a dead woman is lying on the floor. Pippa has no recollection of last night’s events; her first initial mistake is to leave the scene before anyone finds her there. Her second mistake is to become the lover of the detective who has been put on the case. But her biggest fear is not understanding why she would murder this woman, that’s if she did of course.

What is one silly fact about you?

I love to entertain my Canadian friends with my British quirkiness. When I say, “That’s the dogs bollocks,” they haven’t got a clue why I said it. (Which means, that’s the best thing ever!!)

Do you have a favorite character you have written about so far?

I love Danny Cooper from Pink Crush, she is a heroine in my eyes, but I love every character that I have written about, even the evil ones.

Does that reflect anyone you know?

The idea of Danny came about when I was at Vancouver Pride one year and in the parade was the local fire department and the crew were hanging off the sides of the fire truck holding water pistols and soaking the crowd. It was awesome but one female member took it further and got on top of the truck and used a hose. We were all in for it as it was such a hot day everyone loved it. But a few months later she was killed in India. Driving her motorbike she was hit by a car and the driver didn’t stop at the scene. She died later in hospital because of pure paperwork, her friend had to go back to the hotel to get her insurance documents before they would treat her, only the waiting game cost a wonderful and brave woman her life. Sorry to be so depressing on this answer but she was my inspiration for writing this story.

Spaghetti or Lasagne and why?

Neither…YUK! I hate them both, pasta is not for me. I tried it, I was ill on it and I will never eat it again unless I was tied up in a chair by my kidnapper who thought what an excellent way to torture her, she hates pasta therefore I will force her to eat it. Then I would eat it.

If you could meet a character from any novel who would it be?

Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit! I was entertained as a child with this story, it has stayed with me all of my life but I would like to personally tell him to just stop acting like such an ass, the fate of the Shire is in your hands now!

Anything you want to say to the aspiring writers reading the blog?

If you have an idea, whether it comes to you in your sleep or whilst you are out at the supermarket, grab a pen and a piece of paper and start writing it down. What if I don’t have a pen? I hear you ask…you’re in a bloody supermarket, need I say more?? Anyhoo, do your best to write down, your thoughts, your images to keep the scene fresh and this will come across more passionate than if you wait several hours when the momentum has gone.

I spent my entire Christmas vacation writing Vampire Changeling, my wife is pretty understanding thank god, but I was writing like a lunatic, each scene came immediately after I had just written the last, this was because I was there mentally; to have stopped for Christmas would have meant losing a great story.

 I have now ventured into writing about BDSM as well as lesbian romance, I interchange how hardcore or innocent I want my sex scenes to be. This helps me keep my storylines fresh and offer my audience a selection, not everyone wants to read about a lesbian getting her rocks off by being mentally or physically tortured in the quest for pure pleasure. I also like to induce real life events, the great frost of 1709 was an excellent way to use this in Vampire Changeling and I also used the battle of Malplaquet, if you read the story you’ll understand what I mean.

Like all authors I learned the hard way about editing with my inexperience when I first published. Check, check and check again, give a few copies out and ask your friends to find typos or anything relevant so you don’t get crucified out there. Don’t be in a rush to publish, take your time and make sure you have a great cover; I am lucky to have found a couple of ladies who know exactly what will go with my work. Find a good designer through recommendation and check their work out first. I have never paid over $50 for a great cover so don’t get ripped off. The rest is up to you, if you have a topic/storyline that will appeal to your niche then go for it…why are you still here? You should have at least written your first sentence by now!

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