Bibliophile Ramblings.: Author Interview: Roxanne Rue.

In the age-old first date manner, tell me a bit about yourself.

Oh, there’s not much to tell. I think I’m pretty typical. You could type me up in a headline really. “Average Everyday Girl From A Strict Christian Household Writes Filthy Novels with Demons in Them”. I think there is this idea that I’m expected to be some salacious porn star with whips and chains in my bedroom. The truth of things is that it couldn’t be farther from the truth. I mean, I was never a porn star. ;)

But seriously, if we’re talking stats, well, I’m just a nice girl from a small town who secretly loves dirty, dirty stories. I am the quiet girl in the back of the class with her nose in a book and her hand up her skirt. I’m the cheerleader who listens to death metal in her pretty pink bedroom. I’m the jock wearing lacy panties under his uniform. In other words, I’m your average, everyday pervert. With this being my first foray into the published world, I’m hoping that I can connect to my readers with that common level.

Who influenced you most as a writer?

Henry Miller, Anais Nin (of course), Anne Rice, Poppy Z. Brite, Stephen King(Particularly the Bachman books), Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman...I tend to gravitate towards writers with limitless imaginations.

What are your favorite books and why?

It would be easier to tell you my least favorites. I will read absolutely anything, so in my head, my favorites are categorized by genre. For the sake of erotica, I’d have to say either Candy by Mason Hoffenberg and Terry Southern or Under the Roofs of Paris by Henry Miller. Both novels are exceedingly filthy and about five thousand light-years from anything tasteful. They are both decidedly offensive, misogynist, and a bit racist EVEN for the time in which they were written(1958 and 1930 respectively). That being said, it’s some of the most fearless writing I’ve ever read. I’m a big fan of authors that can peel off the layers of propriety off and expose the raw underbelly of an existence. It’s a powerful thing to be able to do something like that with just words on a page.

When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?

There was no time that I didn’t want to be one. I was reading at a very young age and telling stories has always been a thing I liked doing. Before I could write, I was drawing pictures with stories attached to them. It wasn’t long before I started copying the books I was reading and writing my own stories (on a typewriter, no less).

Do you have any interesting writing quirks?

Sometimes, (particularly if I’m stuck) I’ll go back and read parts that I personally enjoyed. Every so often a character will say something especially witty or scathing or something will happen that I wasn’t expecting to write and I’ll read it again like I’m rewinding my favorite part of a movie. There are a few moments like that in the Like a Demon series, so I’ve found myself rereading quite a bit. Yes, it’s a little masturbatory, but if I don’t like my own writing, I certainly can’t expect anyone else to.

How did you become interested in the genre you write?

I just love the fact that things like romance novels and erotica exists and that most unassuming of people read it. I remember seeing romance novels in my grandmother’s collection of books and not automatically not associating them with anything dirty because, to me, my grandmother was a saint and a lady and women like here simply did not indulge in such things.

I know better now, of course. I mean, gramma’s still a saint, but she was also a human being and, like it or not, sometimes we humans do sexual things. There is something liberating in understanding that and what better way to express that than creatively.

And there is so much room for creativity in erotica! There are really no rules or limits but the author’s imagination. I’ve read erotica involving vampires, werewolves, dinosaurs, robots, aliens...the list goes on and on and on. Be absolutely as perverse as you want just keep us entertained.

Tell me a bit about the Like A Demon series.

So, this series follows the Aurele twins, Galatea and Cy. The two of them are private detectives that at the beginning of their story find themselves investigating the death of a rich man’s daughter. While they’re investigating, they both find themselves intertwined in the world of...well, some pretty freaky sex (not with each other, though. Even I have my limits).

Anyway, Galatea meets the very handsome and mysterious Cee who manages to sweep her off her feet very quickly. Very soon, thereafter, some pretty strange occurrences start to happen that seem to surround him. Galatea has to face the fact that Cee might be something more than human.

What I was going for with this series were strong characters with an unabashed sense of their own sexuality. There is a lot going on in the story and while the issue of sex is intertwined with some real-life concepts (like consent and possession, for example) the bottom line is that it’s a part of who these characters are for them to be sexual beings.

There’s also a solid mystery going on in the foreground surrounding Rebecca Prosper (the rich man’s daughter). The mystery of her death, however, is just the tip of a bigger mystery surrounding Galatea and her brother.

What was the inspiration behind the series?

New Orleans! I love the city and the energy that lies just underneath the street. If you’ve ever gone on a ghost tour, or just walked around the streets at night, the city just feels alive, like there’s something breathing under the streets. At the same time, there’s a kind of holiness about the city as well. You can feel the watchful eyes of the dead guarding you as you walk the streets. It’s the perfect setting for a story that deals with characters walking the line between the sacred and the profane.

I also wanted to do a series that could be published regularly, like a comic or the Penny Dreadful books of the nineteenth century. I loved serial type books as a kid. Just waiting for the next one to come out was always kind of a thrill to me.

Do you have another writing project in mind or in the making? If so, can you tell us a little about it?

At the moment, I do have another project coming, but I’m hesitant to talk about it just yet. Keep an eye out on my page for details, though. (www.roxannerue.com)

Any advice for aspiring authors?

Just write. Even if you think what you’re writing is terrible. Write. And read everything. As writers, we tend to emulate writing that we’re most familiar with, so if you want to get better, read outside of your comfort level. Read the classics, read a little YA, read some erotica, whatever, but read. Head over to your local library (because if you should happen run into a book you hate, you can just take it back) and discover something new. The big lesson I’ve learned in life is that when you expose yourself to different voices, you’ll find out how unique yours is. :)

THE LIKE A DEMON SERIES