Hello Erotica Author Elizabeth Coldwell. Welcome to Coffee Time Romance and More!
Thanks for having me. I’m very excited to be here.
Tell us about your Lionhearts series.
Lionhearts is a series of male/male paranormal novels, each of which features a lion shifter who finds himself in the position of bonding with a human mate. Each one is set in a different part of the world, and they can all be read separately from each other, but there is usually at least one character who links one book to the next.
I love that title for the set. What inspired this series? What came first—the world, the characters, or the plot?
The first book in the series, The Pride of Amsterdam, was originally intended to be a one-off. I saw a plaque on a wall in Amsterdam commemorating a brewery that once stood on the site, and it features an image of a creature that was half-man, half lion. It made me think that similar beasts could have been living in the city for centuries, coexisting alongside humans. I’d also had an idea floating around about two people who have a passionate encounter on Millennium Eve, then don’t see each other again for years, and that became the start of the plot. My editor for the book liked the idea so much she saw the potential for a series.
Please introduce us to your heroes in your most recent release, Vintage Pride, book 3 in the Lionhearts series.
The lion shifter at the heart of the story is Jean-Luc LeBlanc. He owns a magnificent chateau in France where he produces champagne. However, he’s become a recluse following the death of his shifter mate, Benoît, and he’s pretty much given up on the world. The human hero is Ethan Wayne. He works as a paranormal investigator on a reality TV show, and he arrives to investigate mysterious goings-on at the chateau. Jean-Luc realizes he’s destined to bond with Ethan, but he doesn’t know how to cope because he’s still mourning Benoît, and he doesn’t believe he could be attracted to a human.
How many books do you have planned in this series?
Six. I’m currently working on the sixth book, which is the final one as it stands, though I wouldn’t rule out more if I got a really good idea for the storyline.
The fourth, Into The Arena, which features a movie star with an obsessive stalker, will be out on general release at the end of September.
Who is your favorite character you have created so far from any of your stories?
That’s so hard to answer as I love getting into the heads of so many wonderful and varied characters, but I have a soft spot for Jamie Desmond. He’s the hero of a novella I wrote for Xcite Books, Ridden Hard. He’s an up-and-coming actor who’s confident, witty, and handsome in a rough kind of way, though he meets his match in a dominant riding instructor who can see through his bravado. If I was a man, Jamie’s the man I’d like to be.
If you could live in one of your stories for a day, which one would it be and why?
I wrote a ménage novella for Totally Bound, Three-Part Harmony, about the adventures of a rock band, Sweet Lies, who get very close to each other while they’re on the road. It allowed me to indulge all my fantasies of being a singer, so I think I’d like to step into the shoes of the heroine, Aimee, and perform on stage to thousands of fans.
A singer! That would be exciting! Did you choose erotica because love scenes are easy for you to write?
Writing erotica was a natural progression for me because I worked on Forum magazine, and we were dealing with all aspects of sex and relationships. I wouldn’t say love scenes are easy. You have to be careful not to make them sound repetitive or gratuitous, but I don’t have any inhibitions about writing really hot scenes or exploring the emotions of my characters through how they get on in the bedroom. And when I first started writing, publishers tended to require one sex scene per chapter. Now, there’s more of an emphasis on a strong, engaging plot.
I understand you were an editor at Forum. What made you make the transition from editor to writer? What have you learned as a writer that you didn’t know as an editor?
I’ve always wanted to write fiction, and I was lucky that, when I worked on Forum, the fiction section was an important part of the magazine, launching the careers of some great writers. I was able to start out writing stories for the magazine, then eventually progressed to novels. In those days, opportunities to get published were more limited because this was before e-publishing opened up more possibilities for authors. I think being an editor actually taught me more than being a writer, because I learned so much about structure, writing to a certain length, and how to avoid some of the traps novice writers can fall into.
When you’re not writing, what do you enjoy doing? What are your hobbies?
I love to bake. I recently got one of those silicon brownie pans, so I’m experimenting with that. And I support my hometown football team, Rotherham United. I travel to a lot of their games, home and away, and I have the job of organizing tickets and travel for a group of my friends, which is a sizeable responsibility. But we have some great days out, even if the team loses.
That sounds like fun! You can bake, and I’ll eat. Lol What is the last book you read that you called a favorite?
It’s not an erotic novel, but I really enjoyed The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. It doesn’t quite match up to The Secret History, which I absolutely love, but it was interesting to see her take on Amsterdam. As for erotica, I’ve recently discovered Kiera Andrews. I enjoyed her book, oi, and I’m keen to read more.
What would it surprise readers to know about you?
I’m learning Dutch at the moment – not for any reason other than we spend a lot of time in Amsterdam and it’s useful to be able to read signs and the like. Speaking the language is a different matter. It’s such a difficult accent to master. But I can ask for a glass of wine and pay the bill, and that’s a good start
That is surprising! Good luck with that. As long as you can order wine, you should be good to go.
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions!
That’s no problem. I’ve had fun answering them, and I hope I’ve given everyone some insight into me and my work.
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