Today I’m chatting to Madelynne Ellis, author of several sizzlingly sexy Black Lace titles. Madelynne, welcome to FAR! To get things started, why not tell us a little about yourself.

Hi folks. I’m Madelynne. I grew up in the North-East of England which is the setting for many of my novels, although I now live in the Midlands not far from the Welsh Border. Originally, I wanted to be a forensic scientist, and I have a degree in Biology & Chemistry, but somewhere along the way I got sidetracked into writing. I think I’m best known for my m/m/f ménage erotica, but I also write m/f, and my first m/m story was published earlier this year. It’s great to be here at FAR.

Tell us about your newest releases `Hard At Work’ (in Sexy Little Numbers, Black Lace) and `El Alquimista’ (in Lust At First Bite, Black Lace).

Short stories are the bane of my life along with endless ironing, and yet I still write them. I know some writers love them, but I’d much rather write a novel. Nevertheless, El Alquimista is one of my favourites. I really enjoyed breaking away from my typical handsome villain and creating a character who is sexy and compelling but in an edgy, terrifying sort of way. The story has a contemporary setting of a dingy hotel and is about one woman’s determination to avenge the loss of her lover by seeking to destroy the vampire who killed him. It’s definitely more erotic horror than romance.

Hard at Work, on the other hand, is a fairly simple story of an office romance between a secretary and her boss. It ventures into the realm of BDSM, but really it’s about power dynamics and how outwardly a person may seem to be one thing, but sexually they are something else.

When I was reading Passion of Isis (Black Lace), I was struck by the amount of authentic detail you used not only for the archaeology but also for the descriptions of Cairo. Did you visit Egypt prior to writing the novel, and how much research do you do for each book?

Sadly my research budget didn’t stretch to a trip to Egypt, and I have to confess I’ve never been there or anywhere close. All those details are gleaned from months of meticulous research. It makes me smile every time someone asks if I’ve been to Cairo, because then I know the effort was worth it.

Passion of Isis is probably my most research heavy book to date. It included taking numerous virtual tours of pyramid sites, lots of reading and keeping tabs on several real life archaeologists such as Kent Weeks.

Most of my books require less intensive research. I already have a fair background knowledge of the Georgian and Regency periods, so mostly I just fact check as I go along, although, I do like to try and visit important buildings and locations prior to commencing writing. Locations I’ve used so far include the Stiper Stones in Shropshire, Stokesay Castle, and the Gothic Temple at Stowe. Presently, my main "research tool" is the OED online. I’m forever checking when words came into usage.

In Dark Designs (Black Lace), the ballsy dress designer heroine Remy is a big fan of yaoi and it’s partly her love of the genre that draws her to the two heroes, the blue-haired biker Takeshi and the stunningly beautiful, long-haired Silk. What are your favourite yaoi titles and can you tell us a bit about how Japanese culture influenced this novel?

My favourite yaoi titles are Yellow by Makoto Tateno and Fake by Sanami Matoh. I love them both for their complexity and humour.

Dark Designs was primarily influenced by my personal love of all things gothic and historical costume. I’d also recently started listening to Gackt and several visual kei bands from Japan. I still love the imagery they use. Add to that a taste for Hong Kong triad films, and shake them all together and you basically have the background for Dark Designs. I then turned Remy’s love of yaoi manga into a bit of an obsession, so that she couldn’t quite resist trying to match up the two boys when they came along. Readers have commented on this as an unusual set up, because she’s actually more interested in watching the guys together than in them all becoming a typical threesome.

A Gentleman’s Wager and Phantasmagoria (Black Lace) features the heroine Bella caught between two men, Lucerne and Vaughan, Marquis Pennerley, who desire not only her but also each other. Ménage a trois is a popular genre right now-what attracts you to it as a writer, and what difficulties do you encounter with it?

Ménage a trois as a viable genre was non-existent back when I wrote A Gentleman’s Wager. It still surprises me how rapidly it turned into such a popular theme. For me the appeal is fairly simple, and comes down to two things. 1) I like seeing men with other men, and 2) I like complexity. For me, a relationship involving three people allows for lots of conflict. Nothing is easy. It’s all a balancing act, constantly trying to keep everyone happy. Competition arises, there’s always an element of jealousy involved, and the risk of cracks developing. Hence Phantasmagoria, which explores what happens to a threesome when the constant niggles start to pull them apart.

You delved into the relationships between men in previous books, butPure Folly (Total-E-Bound) is your first M/M title. Why do you like this genre, and will we be seeing more M/M titles from you in the future?

Pure Folly started out as bit of pure escapism that I wrote to remind myself why I loved writing, as a result, it contains all the elements of a story that really appeal to me. It’s historical, it features a spooky location, good looking men and it’s about unrequited love. It’s also a ghost story. Initially, I didn’t intend for it to be published, but visitors to my blog seemed intrigued by the premise and kept asking about it, so eventually I caved in.

Although I’m not currently writing m/m, I do have several rough outlines for future projects, so it’s fairly likely you’ll see future m/m releases from me.

As for why I enjoy writing it... I’m just wired that way. One man is hot. Two together make me grin inanely.

Recently it was announced that the Black Lace imprint was closing its doors (as a long-time reader, I’m gutted by the news). Do you think the rise of e-publishing has had an impact on traditional erotica publishers? Will you be continuing along the e-published route?

Currently, I’m aiming my sights at NY print publishers, but I also consider e- publishing a valid option for my shorter works. Which I guess means I’m opting for a bit of both.

Regarding Black Lace, the imprint remained profitable to the end. I think other factors beside the rise of e-publishing impacted on the decision to close submissions. The world is a very different place to how it was in 1992 when they first opened. There was no Girl Power, or Sex and the City, and people were genuinely shocked at the idea that a woman might want to read a book involving explicit sex. Now there are dozens of publishers putting out erotic romance. That said; I’m not sure how much impact the e-publishers have had on the traditional erotica publishers, because, while many people see erotic romance and erotica as synonyms, they’re actually two different products. I’m quite dubious about how much the two audiences overlap.

You live in Birmingham in the UK’s West Midlands. Many authors have come from this region—J.R.R. Tolkein, W.H. Auden, and David Lodge to name but a few—and they’ve all left their mark on the literary world. How would you like to be remembered by future generations?

Ah, well actually I don’t live in Birmingham. I live a good hour north of there in Staffordshire, and I originally hale from even further north, from Catherine Cookson territory.

I’d like to be remembered for my wonderful characters.

You and your partner run LARP (Live Action Role Play) events. Can you tell us how you got into role-playing and what’s the craziest experience you’ve had while immersed in a role?

I got into role-playing at university. The first time I saw my future partner he was wearing pixie boots and a cloak and was leading a werewolf around on a leash. LARP feeds my love of fantasy and is a fine bit of escapism from the mundane world. That and I do love the all the costumes.

As for the craziest thing... Lord, there are so many. Perhaps, being "escorted" to breakfast at gunpoint by a squad of WWI German soldiers.

Do you think your background in science has helped you with your writing? If so, in what way?

I can’t honestly say that it has. It comes in useful when I’m writing about science related topics, but that’s about it.

Describe your typical day.

Utter madness.

Seriously, it’s usually something like this.

6.30am Get up, get kids ready, eat breakfast, then walk to school. It’s a mile each way.

9.00am Arrive home, read email, forums etc

10am - 2.30pm Get as much writing done as I can. I start by reading what

I’ve done the day before, and generally eat lunch at my desk.

2.30pm Go and collect the kids from school. I then get home between 3.30 and 5.30 depending on what after school activities they have that night.

8.30pm Attempt to get in a few more hours of writing once the kids are asleep.

Midnight (give or take an hour or two). Fall into bed. Sleep.

Of all the characters you’ve created, do you have a particular favourite? What appeals to you the most about this character?

Vaughan, Marquis of Pennerley from A Gentleman’s Wager & Phantasmagoria is still my absolute favourite. I don’t think anything will ever change that. I affectionately refer to him as the mad mercurial bastard. He’s an emotional whirlwind, changeable, deep, intelligent, horribly cruel and magnetic. He’d be hell to live with. Most impressive of all, he wasn’t even supposed to be in A Gentleman’s Wager, he just strolled in one day and like Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean announced his presence and that he was taking over. He still drops by every now and again to remind me he’s not done with me yet. Someday I will get that third book written.

You’ve written a number of historicals and I see from your blog that you’re planning on several more. If you had a time machine, which periods of history would you like to visit and why?

Hmm, this is difficult. I think I’d go for Georgian England, and the time of the War of the Roses. They’re both periods of history that fascinate me, and it’d be great research. Of course, I’d want to be male too. Women didn’t get a very good deal through most periods of history.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island, what three things would you take with you?

1. A hairbrush. I have long hair and I detest tangles.

2. A huge ball of string so that I could make things. This is the Girl Guide in me talking.

3. Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Is that allowed?)

While writing, how does the story develop for you? Do you go from start to finish or create scenes as they come to you?

I’m quite methodical in my writing these days, generally I write from start to finish, but I don’t necessarily see the book in that way. Actual pieces of the plot are like snapshots that I have to put into sequence without any clues. I jot down notes about scenes I think occur later in the story and then flesh them out when I reach the appropriate point. Actually, I find it difficult to move forward until I have each scene polished to the best of my ability. This means it takes me quite a long time to produce a first draft, but then it only takes a few tweaks to have the finished product.

What’s the best bit of writing advice you could give to aspiring authors?

Read, and not just in your chosen genre, and find someone who is prepared to give you honest feedback about your work.

Thank you, Madelynne, for taking the time to chat with us. We wish you all the best with your fantastic titles! Take a look at Madelynne’s website, and read her blog.

Interviewed by: Maija