Q&A with David Russell, author of DREAMTIME SENSUALITY

It's Raining Books welcomes David Russell, whose latest book was released this summer. Read a little bit about the book.

The characters in this quartet of stories are intelligent, sensitive and literary. They are also supremely voyeuristic and open-minded. Their intelligence is counterbalanced by inhibitions, which they can only lose by premeditated seduction scenarios, which relate intimately to their professional, creative and cultural lives. The great effort each couple puts into arranging a scenario seems to enhance the quality of the experience. A great source of inspiration for this and other works has been the novel The Girl Beneath the Lion by André Pieyre de Mandiargues.

David agreed to answer a few questions for us. David, why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

I do not write exclusively in one genre; I also write speculative fiction and poetry. The latter is often dark and obsessional. So the romance area gives me some counterbalancing light.

What research is required?

My recommendation would be to become proficient at The Times crossword, or the US/Canadian equivalent of that. It really does extend the vocabulary. Plus as much reading as possible of the Gothic tradition for the paranormal.

Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.

You may get greater euphoria if you have formerly been ultra-circumspect/inhibited. I was brought up as an ultra-prude. Now I have a formula for romance writing.

Any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

When editing my work, I tend to start at the end, and read backwards, paragraph by paragraph.

Plotter or pantser?

I’m not sure what a ‘pantser’ is. I Believe in writing carefully constructed plots, and I also have a wardrobe fetish.

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

An unidentified spectre

Anything new coming up from you? What?

One straightforward romance story, and one story combining romance, mythology and time-travel

Do you have a question for our readers?

Do you like innovations, surprises and challenges in what you read. Do you have other reading areas?

Buy the book at Devine Destinies, Manic Readers, Barnes and Noble, or Amazon.

About the Author:

b. 1940. Resident in the UK. Writer of poetry, literary criticism, speculative fiction and romance. Main poetry collection Prickling Counterpoints (1998); poems published in online International Times. Main speculative works High Wired On (2002); Rock Bottom (2005). Translation of Spanish epic La Araucana, Amazon 2013. Romances: Self’s Blossom; Explorations; Further Explorations; Therapy Rapture; Darlene, An Ecstatic Rendezvous (all pub Extasy (Devine Destinies). Singer-songwriter/guitarist. Main CD albums Bacteria Shrapnel and Kaleidoscope Concentrate. Many tracks on You Tube, under ‘Dave Russell’. http://www.davidrussell-author.blogspot.co.uk