The
Short Review:
How long did it take you to write all the stories in your collection?
Susan
DiPlacido: They were all written over a two year period.
I also write book length fiction, so I like to alternate and do a few
short stories in between longer works.
TSR: Did you
have a collection in mind when you were writing them?
SD:
I didn't have a collection in mind at all.
There are certain repeating themes that come up in my writing, though,
so they seemed to fit together. Sometimes I'll tackle the same basic
premise from a different angle, or sometimes I'll use characters in a
different time in their life or even an alternate reality. So those
tendencies helped make for a cohesive whole when putting them all
together.
TSR: How did
you choose which stories to include and in what order?
SD: That's
a good question. I wanted a good mix of erotic and non-erotic and some
pulpy things to represent all the genres I really enjoy writing -- and
reading. So I tried to keep that mix in mind and also arrange them in a
way that gives an up-and-down effect when reading. Something silly,
then something a little more ahem, provocative.
TSR: Do you
have a "reader" in mind when you write stories?
SD: I
have pretty mainstream tastes in reading, even though I like things a
little edgier. To me, there's often a divide when it comes to genres,
and I don't understand why we can't have the best of both worlds. I
think back to some of the books that made Jackie Collins so famous, and
she intertwined romance and suspense and pulpy crime really well. I
realize that Jackie Collins isn't always respected among the literati,
but she's really fun to read, because she incorporates all those
elements. So I try to write that way, thinking there must be others out
there like me who can't get enough of that edgier, more explicit
fiction when they're browsing the latest chick-lit titles.
TSR: Is there
anything you'd like to ask someone who has read your
collection,
anything at all?
SD:
I'd like to thank them is what I'd like to do. But, I learned a long
time ago to never ask a question you may not want to know an honest
answer to, so no, I wouldn't really ask any questions. ;)
TSR: How does it feel knowing that people are buying your book?
SD:
It's both humbling and exhilarating. Writing is a form of
communicating, even though it can seem isolated and one-way, like one
person doing all the talking. But if someone buys a book and then reads
it, they've kept that communication going. It's crazy, and wonderful.
And it makes me grateful, much as I am to you for having me here!
TSR: What are
you working on now?
SD:
Right now I'm back to book-length. It's a spicy rom-com set in the pro
poker world. But I have gotten some ideas for new shorts from it, too.
(that's generally how it happens, one story leads to another.) So once
that's done, I'll be working on a few shorts again.
