Month: February 2017

An Interview with Vanessa Mulberry

*Note: This image is fan art of Vanessa’s book: The First Act. This isn’t what happened in the interview*

CB: Today is an exciting day because we have an interview with author Vanessa Mulberry! Vanessa is an author who actually wants to be featured on the Annals of Gentalia site, which is amazing on multiple levels.

CB: Hello Vanessa and welcome to the interview!

Vanessa:  hELLO!

CB: Interviews are 10 questions long, as per the ancient laws of the elder ones, so let’s get right into it!

#1

CB: This is probably the most important question there is. You may notice that I am green, what colour do you want your text to be in this interview? I shall set my Quantum-Unicorn-Powered-Rainbow-Jackulator to shift your colour.

Vanessa: Oh my gosh, what a question! No softballs in this interview. I’m going to have to go with Mulberry I think, to honour the kind souls who named the colour after me.

CB: Looking sharp!

#2

CB: Okay, time for a question that is actually a question. Can you please tell us a bit about your writing style and your work?

Vanessa: I write MM historical romance and so try to write in an appropriate voice.  I’ve set books in ancient Troy, Tudor England, Regency London, and I’m currently working on a book set in the English countryside in 1924. Each has their own unique challenges, particularly in terms of the words and idioms. For example, my novel The First Act is set in 1594, and most people will be familiar with texts from that time via Shakespeare, but I wasn’t about to write a romance in Early Modern English! So it has a modern voice, and the flavor of the time has to come through wordplay and vocabulary choices.

CB: I have read that book and appreciate that it was old timey enough, but not too much. Needing an old English dictionary would be troublesome, mostly because Old English is a hard font to read!

#3

CB: Let’s dive a bit deeper into your latest release, Becoming Lord Drake’s Lover. Can you tell us more about Lord Drake, and what you liked most about his story?

Vanessa: Josiah Drake is a rakish Regency hero with a heart of gold. He’s sex positive, respectful to women, kind to his servants and very much in love with his friend Albinus St John. He’s also a kinky bugger. I like him very much!

I think my favourite thing about his story has got to be his love and respect for Albinus. That and his collection of butt plugs.

CB: I did like Lord Buttplug’s collect of Drakes as well. !!! I mean, uh… Lord Drake’s collection of buttplugs!

#4

CB: Now for a very important question that everyone has been waiting to hear the answer to: Who would win in a fight, Supergirl or Batgirl?

Vanessa: Well Supergirl is one of the few TV shows I actually watch so I’m going to have to go with her! She has powers whilst Batgirl just has gear, so it makes sense to me, plus she’s got the DEO behind her.

CB: Personally, I think it depends on the fight. Out of the blue, yes, Supergirl is going to kick butt, but if she has time to prepare, Batgirl might come out on top! If it is a sexy fight, I think everyone wins!

#5

CB: Perhaps another question about writing next! What is your favourite part of the writing process?

Vanessa: I really like editing. I do 7-10 drafts of each story so it’s layer upon layer of polishing. My first drafts tend to be quite spare, so each lay usually adds rather than cuts. It’s much less painful that way!

CB: Sorry, my Quantum-Unicorn-Powered-Rainbow-Jackulator is acting up after I used so many colours in the last question.

#6

CB: You often write in historical times, what kind of research, sexy or otherwise, do you do to make your stories more authentic to the time period?

Vanessa: My google researches are probably very tame compared to other writers. It’s mostly little details, things like clothing, architecture, and the popular names of the era. Sexywise, I have researched lubes, dildos etc. Humans have been carving phallic objects for 28,000 years so there’s plenty of material available for the imaginative author!

CB: My Google search history? Who said anything about looking at my Google search history?!

CB: We are getting some odd colours here Terrance. Maybe we should stop using the highly experimental Quantum-Unicorn-Powered-Rainbow-Jackulator?

Terrance the Unicorn: Okay! Got it.

#7

CB: Sorry about that Vanessa. I guess it is back to basic black for now. That is a shame because this is probably the most important question of the interview. I hear you are big fan of the Annals of Gentalia Books! Can you tell us more about them!?

Vannesa: I am a huge fan! The Annals are my favourite LGBTQIA comedy erotica series and are set in a sexy gaming environment. The books are very funny, with outlandish sex scenes and parodies of top games.

They also have some of the best fanfics, including The Classic Sixty-Nine Collection by BC Fletcher. BC Fletcher is hilarious and the book is perma-free right here!

CB: This topic is so interesting! I could talk about them for an entire interview! Speaking about myself… wait, why did the colours come back Terrance?

Terrance the Unicorn: I’m not sure, I stopped pedaling!

CB: That’s odd, the Quantum-Unicorn-Powered-Rainbow-Jackulator shouldn’t work without a unicorn at the stationary bike.

#8

CB: Hmm… Do you know anything about Quantum-Unicorn-Powered-Rainbow-Jackulators Vanessa?

Vanessa: Why yes I do! The problem here is certainly your Unicorn, which should probably be replaced. Please be responsible and recycle your Unicorn. They make excellent rainbow glitter glue, or you can sell them for meat in France.

CB: Terrance, you’re fired.

Terrance the Unicorn: Aw.

The Quantum-Unicorn-Powered-Rainbow-Jackulator sniffs the air cautiously.

#9

CB: I am kind of worried with the way that the Quantum-Unicorn-Powered-Rainbow-Jackulator has gained sentience, but I am sure it is fine to continue the interview. What is your favourite mythological monster?

Vanessa: It’s a cliché I know, but I’m not immune to the charms of Vampires and Werewolves. I like the angst that comes with vampires—they’re always grumpy about living forever and having to eat people! And yet they are sexy as hell.

CB: I am partial to elves myself. Also, centaurs, you might have noticed that!

Vanessa: I’m still hoping for an elf/centaur/cervitaur threesome!

CB: That would be pretty great! *misty eyes*

The Quantum-Unicorn-Powered-Rainbow-Jackulator snarls.

CB: I think we made it mad by not picking it as one of our favourite mythological creatures!

The Quantum-Unicorn-Powered-Rainbow-Jackulator changes colours of its targets.

Wendell the Replacement Pegasus: I’m running away now! Good luck!

Vanessa: Get thee to a knackers yard, Wendell!

#10

CB: This will not end well, but I think we have time for one more question before following my assistant Terrance, so I will ask the standard final question in interviews. Do you have any questions for me?

Vanessa: Can you tell us about the upcoming entries in the Tales of Gentalia series?

CB:Of course! I am working on #8 right now, which is a Pinball/Fighting game combo. Anyone that has read Patchers of the Code would have spotted the name of this Tale as it features in the plot. If you pay extra attention the other remaining Tales’ names were also hinted at in that scene. There is going to be a total of 12 Tales and a secret one after that that I don’t ever tell anyone about!

CB: We should probably run screaming now! The Quantum-Unicorn-Powered-Rainbow-Jackulator has a taste for blood now that it ate Wendell.

Vanessa: Yes, lets!

Actual thanks to Vanessa for the interview!

*Disclaimer* No animals were hurt during this interview. Pegasus are classified as magical beasts you see!

You can find Vanessa’s Books here: Author.to/VanessaMulberry

Or read my interview on her blog here!