An Interview with Harper Bliss, part of the Forbidden Fruit Blog Tour!
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Lisabet
Sarai: Greetings, Harper! I'm delighted to have you back at
Beyond Romance, and really pleased to be in the Forbidden
Fruit anthology with you. I know you're a prolific writer
with many single-author titles to your credit. Why did you decide to
submit to this group collection?
Harper
Bliss: So happy to be a guest here again, Lisabet. Thank you for
having me. Well, I submitted a story to Forbidden Fruit for
many reasons. The most important one being that Cheyenne Blue is the
editor. Of course, I must also mention that I co-own Ladylit
(publisher of Forbidden Fruit) and that being able to work on
this anthology with Cheyenne is, truly, one of my dreams come true.
Apart from that, I love lesbian erotica anthologies and I firmly
believe there should be more of them (Cheyenne and I are working on
that!) ;-) All of that being said, I’m chuffed to bits with how the
table of contents turned out, and it’s a true honour for me to find
my name amongst all these fabulous authors.
LS:
On a broader note, what impels you to write lesbian fiction? Is
this the only genre you write?
HB:
It is the only genre I write. The quick and very simple answer is
that I write lesbian erotica and romance because I’m a lesbian and
I can’t imagine not seeing my identity reflected in the books I
write. I also write lesbian fiction because this is the genre I love
more than anything. I’m always so offended when someone asks me my
why I don’t include more straight characters in my stories (and
believe me, I get this question often!) My standard reply:
“Percentage-wise, of all the books in the world, how many of them
feature non-LGBT characters? Go read one of those.”
Also,
within lesbian fiction, there are many sub-genres. I started out as
an erotica writer, but, as time goes by, I find myself gravitating
towards romance much more (although I can never help but include a
few steamy scenes.) For the past months, I’ve been toying with the
idea of writing a spy thriller about a really kick-ass (lesbian!)
woman. I have the main character all mapped out in my head, and I can
definitely see myself write something like that someday. I guess what
I’m trying to say is that, in the future, I may write in many
genres, but (most of) my characters will always be lesbians.
LS:
The term “forbidden fruit”, of course, refers to the
Biblical story of Adam and Eve. In that tale, the apple is forbidden
because it imparts knowledge of good and evil. Are there any echoes
of this notion in your tale?
HB:
My story is not so much about good and evil. It’s more about
crossing a line that, perhaps, shouldn’t be crossed (which makes it
all the more compelling to cross.) By the way, I’d really like to
take this opportunity to thank the amazing Cheyenne Blue for coming
up with the awesome theme for this anthology. I wanted to read it
long before the call for submissions went out!
LS:
Have you ever partaken of “forbidden fruit” yourself? Care
to share with my readers?
HB:
Gosh, what a devilish question! And a good one, too. I may need
to ask the same one to my interviewee on this blog tour. ;-) I’ve
racked my brain and my answer is a firm no. As dramatic as my stories
are, I’m as straight-laced as they come. My wife may disagree, but,
all in all, I’m a really good girl. I do have a very vivid
imagination, and I won’t say I’ve never fantasized about plucking
a juicy piece of forbidden fruit, but it’s not in my nature to act
upon these things.
LS:
Please tell us a bit about your story, “Freedom”, and how it fits
the anthology theme.
HB:
“Freedom” tells the story of Ella, recently dumped by her
long-term girlfriend, who runs into her ex-mother-in-law. They both
turn into forbidden fruit for each other. I’ve always liked the
older/younger woman dynamic (and I’ve written many stories about
it), but I wanted to take it a bit further and create more of a taboo
atmosphere. These two women used to know each other quite well, so
the connection is already there. Then there’s the fact that the
very person who brought them together in the first place, this
girl—daughter to one and ex to to the other—they both love, will,
ultimately, bring them together again in a not so obvious, but
inevitable (and quite sexy) way.
Excerpt:
The
city sidewalks are crowded, so I walk behind Brooke until the ocean
of people clears up and we arrive at one of the posh streets
alongside the park.
“The
house simply got too big. You’ve no idea of the amount of
maintenance a place like that requires, and just for little old me. I
was fed up with it.” She gestures at a building a few feet away. “I
live there now and I can walk everywhere. It’s fabulous.”
“I
bet,” I say, as I follow her inside, past an obsequiously nodding
doorman.
Brooke
occupies one of the lower floor apartments, but the view of the park
is still breathtaking.
“Lovely.”
I scan the living room and recognize some pieces of furniture from
the old house. I’m surprised Jamie didn’t talk her mother into
getting rid of that sofa, considering what we once did in it. Twice,
actually…
“Now,
for that drink.” Brooke shrugs off her coat and heads to a cabinet
in the corner of the living room. “Do you still like a good
brandy?”
“Oh
yes.” I perk up at the mention of it.
She
grabs the bottle and two brandy snifters, and deposits them on the
coffee table, gesturing for me to take a seat next to her.
After
pouring us both a generous amount, she hands me a glass and clinks
the fat belly of her glass to mine. “You look good, Ella, don’t
let anyone tell you otherwise.”
“Thanks.”
Immediately, a flush burns on the skin of my cheeks. I wasn’t
expecting a compliment. The brandy helps. Now both my throat and my
cheeks burn.
“How
are you coping with being alone?” She draws her lips into a
lopsided grin. “As you well know, I’m an expert at that
particular activity.”
I
asked Jamie a dozen times, shaking my head in disbelief, why a
beautiful, classy woman like her mother would prefer to remain single
for so long after her father’s death. “She likes her
independence,” Jamie would say. “And why don’t you ask her
yourself if you’re so keen to find out?” I wouldn’t have
dreamed of asking that question back then, and now Brooke practically
brings it up herself.
“It
sucks.” My eloquence has let me down a lot since the break-up. “I
mean, I’m not very good at it. How do you, um, go about it?”
“Jamie
may have been foolish enough to let you go, but you won’t be alone
for long, Ella. I’m sure of that.” She brings her lips to the
glass and sips. “As for me, I just can’t seem to find anyone to
my taste. Let’s just say some of my preferences have changed since
Gareth and I got married.” She locks her eyes on mine and drags the
tip of her tongue across her teeth.
I
drink to recover from the sudden intensity surrounding us, from the
change of air. What am I doing here, anyway? I look away and my eyes
land on a picture of Jamie, all blond and healthy and beautiful.
Brooke’s hair is blond as well, but more golden and quite probably
dyed.
“I
should go,” I say, suddenly overwhelmed by an alien emotion. I
can’t identify it as grief or anger—the two main ones I’ve been
suffering from of late. It’s more a mixture of apprehension and the
rush of being flattered by a member of the Stevens family. I don’t
get up, though. I remain firmly planted in my seat.
“Stay.”
Brooke reaches for the bottle and refills my glass, which isn’t
even empty yet.
*****
The next stop on the Forbidden Fruit blog tour is Harper
Bliss (http://harperbliss.com/) who is interviewing Rachel O. Esplanade
Leave a comment on any post in the Forbidden Fruit
blog tour to be entered into a random draw to win one of these great
prizes. Prizes include a paperback copy of Girls Who Score, lesbian
sports erotica edited by Ily Goyanes, Best Lesbian Romance 2011
edited by Radclyffe, Wild Girls, Wild Nights: True Lesbian Sex Stories edited
by Sacchi Green, an ebook of Ladylit’s first lesbian
anthology Anything She Wants, and a bundle of three mini-anthologies
from Ladylit: Sweat, A Christmas to Remember and Bossy. All
of these titles contain some stories written by the fabulous contributors to Forbidden
Fruit: stories of unwise lesbian desire. You must include an email
address in your comment to be entered into the draw.
Forbidden Fruit: stories of unwise lesbian desire is
available direct from the publisher, Ladylit (http://www.ladylit.com/books/forbidden-fruit/)
or from Amazon, Smashwords, and other good retailers of ebooks. Check out
http://www.ladylit.com/books/forbidden-fruit/ for all
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