Q&A with Cecilia Tan…
1) I’ve read that you published your first book 21 years ago, which made me think about how things must have changed in the publishing industry since you set out on your writing adventure. In your opinion and thinking mainly of self-publishing, have things changed for the best?
Overall, I’d say things are better now for creativity, and anything that helps ideas grow is a plus. 21 years ago when I published “Telepaths Don’t Need Safewords” the people who controlled the publishing business said you couldn’t put erotic and science fiction elements together in a book because “science fiction was for kids.” Paranormal romance didn’t even exist yet. Anne Rice’s vampires didn’t have sex. And supposedly self-publishing meant a stigma on a writer’s career. I never felt that stigma, though, because everyone in the industry looked at what I was publishing–which was erotic science fiction with BDSM elements–and said, “oh, but of course you had to self-publish! You’re so daring and original!” The thing is, my doing that unlocked the door for more material like it to be published. My next book of short stories came out from HarperCollins. These days there’s no stigma attached to self-publishing at all and it’s much easier to do. That means every writer with an idea that is too daring or original for the established industry now has a way to reach an audience. Anytime creativity expands is a good thing!
2) One of the things that stood out for me while reading Slow Surrender was the many referrals to Britain, whether it be a mild accent, a Union Jack print or the mention of London. Have you visited London, and do you have a secret love affair with the grand old city?
Oh yes! It’s not secret really. I must have been trying to tell myself something while writing it because now book two of the series (Slow Seduction) will be set in London! I went to England a few years ago for a Harry Potter convention, then I went back for a scholarly conference on romance, and I’m already trying to figure out when I can make another trip. So much of American culture comes in threads through British history, so much of our literature, not to mention there’s a long history of BDSM subcultures. How could I not love it?
3) What books have influenced your life the most?
As a writer, every book influences me some way. Great books make me think “I want to do that” and bad books make me think “I could do that so much better.” And some books are both. Anne Rice’s “Interview with a Vampire” was like that. I thought there were some things she did brilliantly and some that could have been so much better. Maybe someday I’ll write the vampire epic I’ve been wanting to ever since reading it! The things that influenced me the most were probably the things I read when I was young, though. The Lord of the Rings, Roger Zelazny’s Amber series, Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Darkover books. The first erotic romance I read was The Last Tango in Paris. Actually, was it a romance? I think I just read the erotic parts over and over so I have no memory of the ending! “Last Tango” was the “50 Shades” for its time, I think, the erotic book that suddenly every woman in America was reading. I stole it from my mother’s shelf.
4) With a 21 year writing career behind you, I imagine you’ve written many books. Do you have a personal favourite?
They say picking a favorite book is like a mother picking a favorite child. But I would say the Magic University books are near the top of the list. They’re romance, they’re fantasy, they’re an homage to Harry Potter, and there are bits of BDSM in them, too, in the sex magic, so they’re basically everything I like all mixed together in one story! I published them with a small company so they aren’t as well-known as Slow Surrender.
5) I was surprised to see such a massive difference in genre when I researched your work. Do you find it easy switching?
The funny thing is that to me it doesn’t feel like a massive shift from writing BDSM-themed erotic science fiction to paranormal romance or to BDSM-themed erotic romance. All my work, even the stuff not labeled romance, has love stories in it, and I’m always exploring the power dynamic between the characters. So whether it’s gay swashbuckling BDSM adventure (The Prince’s Boy) or Harvard students studying sex magic (Magic University) or gay rock stars in the 1980s (Daron’s Guitar Chronicles) it kind of all fits together in my mind. I guess I’m like a chef who cooks a lot of different cuisines but who has some favorite ingredients I like to use often.
Well, okay, the nonfiction books on baseball I do are a big change. But all the FICTION feels like it goes together in my mind!
6) What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced as an author?
The biggest challenge is always finding enough time to write. Okay, when I first started out the biggest challenge was getting people to realize that yes sex did belong in science fiction. In fact, sex belongs in all kinds of stories, not just “pornographic” ones. Arousal is as valid a feeling to inspire in a reader as fear, excitement, sadness, joy, wonder, and all the other emotions we praise writers of suspense, sci-fi, romance, and other fiction for inspiring. The thing is, once I started putting erotica and sf/f together, people saw immediately that they were a natural match after all. So since then, the biggest ongoing challenge is finding the time to do the work. There’s no way to make it go faster or delegate it. “Ass in chair” time is the number one thing it takes to finish a novel, and it’s the one thing that the outside world will never hand to a writer. To make ends meet I juggle a couple of freelance jobs, I’m a BDSM community activist, plus there are family and social obligations, and all the work of maintaining a writing career like blogging, social media, attending conferences and conventions… It all takes time. If I can carve out ten hours per week to write, I’m doing well!
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