Interview With Emma Hillman

Kiki: I want to start off by asking a few questions about your books, as I have had the privilege of reading many of them!

Emma: Fire away!

Kiki: Location, Location, Location came out in August 2009, and you continued Mia & Kevin's story when Yes, No, Maybe released in October 2009.   I have heard chatter asking you if Kevin was written with a particular person in mind.  So, is he? And, if so, who? Or, if you can't tell us who, why is it a secret?

Emma: Oh yes, my lovely fantasy, the very hot Kevin. I guess it’s not really a secret, considering he also knows about it. But, I quite like to make people guess. So, Kiki, dear readers, who do you think Kevin is?

Kiki: Tell us a little about your upcoming Curve Happy series, and what you like about writing Rubenesque stories?

Emma: Curve Happy is a series idea I came up with when I realized I was writing the same kind of stories, all the time. You see, I write stories that I want to read. It’s that simple. I want books with Rubenesque heroines who find love in hot men’s arms (and beds). I tend to really hate 'perfect' heroines; I just don't see the appeal, hence why I'm quite happy writing Rubenesque ladies in every one of my books. At least, that means I enjoy re-reading what I've written! :)

So far, the series includes two novellas: A Thin Line, to be released on 19 July (eXcessica); and One Last Vice, on 30 August (eXcessica). And I'm working on some others, including one very hot swapping story which I hope will see the light of day at one point.

Kiki: Okay, lets get a bit more personal…

Emma: *cracks knuckles* I’m ready!

Kiki: After reading your biography, I have to ask ~ exactly how many different languages do you speak?

Emma: I’m French and British so obviously those are my two main languages. I also speak German, Chinese (Mandarin) and a little bit of Russian. Oh, and I know ancient Greek but that’s not going to help me much these days!

Kiki: You said you read in English because it sounds better.   For those of us who can only speak one language, can you explain why?

Emma:This is somewhat odd as I grew up in France, but I can’t read romance, let alone erotica, novels in French. It just doesn’t sound right! Everyone is probably shaking their heads right now, knowing how French is supposed to be the language of love. But nope, it just doesn’t work for me.

Kiki: You don't plan your stories, you have said, but where did the idea for Behind Locked Doors come from?   I see Book Two released today! Yeah!

Emma: Yeah! The idea behind BLD came to me while I was on my commuter train one evening, listening to my iPod. The song ‘Gallery’ from Mario Vasquez came on and the lyrics go like this:

“Tell me is the money worth your soul

Tell me what's the reason that you hold on

When you know that dude has a whole wall of 'em just like you

And girl you're just way too fine

Gotta be treated as one of a kind”

My mind started buzzing at the idea of some guy having a whole group of girls, all the same, just for him. Automatically I thought of a Harem, and what would happen if it was not only one man (too greedy!) but several. What if some unsuspecting girl became a part of it, but she kept saying no to them? It spiraled from there 

Kiki: You write some really hot stories! So, tell us when you read your first erotic story, and when you wrote your first?

Emma: Oh my. My first erotic story? I’ve read romance for years, ever since I was a teenager. I remember the Angélique series and how hot they were, especially to my 13-year-old mind. Phew! *fans herself*

My first ever erotic piece, however, was a short story entitled The Married Woman’s Guide To Romance and basically tells the story of this woman who’s trying to bring a spark back into her marriage. She uses tips found in magazines/online/etc. to get her husband to notice her again, and it takes a while…but it works in the end!

Kiki: Now, a few quick, more personal questions...

Best book you read recently is? 

Emma: Soulless by Gail Carriger (Orbit). Paranormal, historical, romance, steampunk: it's got it all!

Kiki: Favorite guilty pleasure you will admit to? 

Emma: Watching crappy TV when I’m on my own. So entertaining!

Kiki: If I gave you $1000, what would you run out and buy? 

Emma: Probably books. Oh, and OPI nail polish (anyone wants to donate, I can give you my address!).

Kiki: What food can't you live without? 

Emma: Cheese. Yum! Can't live without it.

Kiki: Last thought before you go to bed each night usually is concerning? 

Emma: It varies, but I’m usually thinking of fantasies. Whether personal or book-related, I like to think of something nice before I fall asleep. I tend to ‘dream’ plots, so it helps with the inspiration!

Kiki: Two more...

If you had more time, I know you would want to write more, but what else do you wish you had more time to do? 

Emma: Probably take care of myself. I tend to run around on weekends, between the house, the laundry, the toddler, the shopping, etc. If I manage to go to the salon once a month, I’m beyond happy. If I had more time, I’d like to use it for myself…Selfish, I know. But believe me, it’s necessary if I want to keep my sanity!

Kiki: Okay, all of these questions, just tell me something I don't know about Emma Hillman. 

Emma: I wanted to be a fashion designer when I was younger. I used to buy Parisian fashion magazines and recreate professional outfits/photos onto paper. I loved it. I still do, but writing is my creative outlet these days.

You can find Emma at http://coffeefuelederotica.blogspot.com/

You can Purchase Emma's Books at http://excessica.com

Author Annette Gisby Reviews “The Trespass” by Barbara Ewing

The Trespass by Barbara Ewing

Blurb:

A cholera plague in Victorian London heightens the dark secrets in the house of a well-to-do English family. Every month small, brave sailing ships leave for the outer regions of the new British Empire and on one of those small ships a desperate young girl hides, knowing very little about this new country, New Zealand and what she might find there.  And not knowing that she will be followed to the other side of the world by people who - each for their own reasons - cannot live without her.
Book Length: 416 pages, paperback and hardback available

Publisher: Sphere

Click Here To Purchase  

Author website: http://www.barbaraewing.com/

Review:

In the London cholera epidemic of 1849, MP Sir Charles Cooper is worried for his youngest daughter, seventeen year old Harriet, and resolves to send her away to the country until the danger has past.

Harriet is pleased to get away from her father, but also worried that he won't send her elder sister, Mary, with her. Isn't she in danger from the cholera too? (More danger than either of them know, for Mary has been helping a doctor treat the cholera patients in the poorest parts of London.) Harriet enjoys her stay in the country with her cousins, and wonders at the easy way the family has with each other, for there is a dark secret at her London home, one she has no words for, because how can a young lady speak of the unspeakable?

Harriet plans a daring escape to New Zealand, following in the footsteps of her cousin, for surely even her father's reach cannot get so far as New Zealand? This book is excellent, with a little dash of history thrown in now and then, but without turning the novel into a history book. The main emphasis is on the characters, and what characters they were. So realisitic and evolved. I was on tenterhooks the whole time wondering of Harriet could ever escape. At a time when women had no money of their own (unless they were lower class and could work), they were owned first by their fathers and then by their husbands, and were not even allowed to work, how could a young girl escape her terrible fate?

'Everything you say is yours, belongs to me, is provided by me, everything, every breath that you take belongs to me. I am your father. And as you well know you owe me absolute obedience.' I devoured this book in two days, you just have to keep reading to find out what happens next. With a wealth of historical detail and well drawn characters, it's one you'd want to read again and again.

Reviewed By:
Author: Annette Gisby
Author Tagline: Annette Gisby writes in multiple genres from horror to fantasy, romance to thrillers and everything in between.
Author Website: http://www.annettegisby.n3.net