Last week, I "sat down" with Lilah E. Noir to answer some pretty intense questions regarding my sequel in the Thorne series, Thorne: Rose's Dark Secret. And I found myself realizing that even if my stories or novels are fiction, there is always truth about myself in them. Writing is always a discovery with me, a discovery of self, a discovery of my needs, and a discovery of why I continue to write, even when success is daunting and fleeting. Today I thought I'd share a couple highlights of the interview. If you'd like to read the interview in its entirety, I invite to visit Ms. Noir's gorgeous website here: lilahenoir.wordpress.com/2016/07/14/author-spotlight-r-b-obrien/ Lilah, herself, is not only a beautiful writer, but she is a graphic artist. This cover, as well as the first Thorne cover, is an example of her talented artwork. Lilah: Ms. O’Brien is back with more exquisite pain, angst and pleasure for her two leading characters, William and Rose. Hello, R.B., and thank you for sparing some of your busy time. What was it like to go back to the dark world of Thorne for the sequel? R.B.: It was great but intense to try to go back into a character’s mind, a mind that is filled with self-loathing and a mind that is male. It is fun to try to psychoanalyze why a character acts and feels the way he/she does, and doing it as a different gender lends itself to many challenges. My desire to delve into the male psyche comes from many years of being drawn to men that seem to have a darker side. But there is also light in them, and it is that duality and intensity that makes me feel alive. Thorne is very much that man as is my first male protagonist, Michael, from the Natalie’s Edge series. Each man, while plagued with a dark past and demons, has this glorious light within them, fighting noble causes. I picture them as true anti-heroes, like the likes of Batman, the Dark Knight. Lilah: Some defined Thorne’s first installment and your leading male as “too dark” and to others it wasn’t “dark enough”. What is your position on the level of “darkness” in contemporary romance and erotica? R.B.: I enjoy darker. I like darker in the sense of emotional turmoil. Everything I write is based off of emotional tug of war, the mental psychology of sex and sexual tension. But I don’t enjoy complete darkness or anything that crosses lines for me personally. I don’t write about harsh punishments or intense physical BDSM. It’s not my thing. At. All. If it does not titillate me, and I want my erotica to not only titillate my readers but to titillate me, why would I do it? I am much more interested in psychological and mental and emotional punishments. I could go on for hours on this topic. But in a nutshell: Why write something that doesn’t personally turn me on? I like flawed characters. I like depth of character. I like to see redemption and dynamic characterization when all is said and done. And there will always be an element of consent for me. Always. And romance. Always. Love. Always. And some semblance of happy ending. Always. So those who said not dark enough? They want me to take them places that I do not want to and will not go. For those who said that the male protagonist is too dark or that Thorne (or even Michael from Natalie’s Edge) is borderline abusive, what can I say to that? They are flawed, round characters, based off real-life relationships and people. They are not made to be fantastical, perfect men or stock characters. How boring to me! And for some, including myself, these types of stories are turn-ons. Watching a strong-willed, alpha man come to terms with his past and his flaws as he discovers love is the story I love to tell but also the story I love to read. And for those who do not understand the psyche of a slight emotional masochist, there is really not much I can do about that. But for those who do understand it, who can identify with that need, that desire, that ache? They get it. That is my audience. And the too dark/not dark enough becomes just right. I got into an argument with someone about one of my stories once and how its depiction is “abuse” and not “BDSM-worthy” as a category. I can’t stand when someone tells me what should or should not turn me on sexually. If both parties understand it, consent exists, and that is all that matters. Truth be told? I was struggling to find erotic works that spoke to my personal fetishes. So guess what? I decided to write them myself. I wrote a blog post here about just how to categorize my books!http://rbobrien.weebly.com/blog-posts/just-how-the-fk-do-i-categorize-my-writing. To see my entire interview, visit the link to Lilah's site lilahenoir.wordpress.com/2016/07/14/author-spotlight-r-b-obrien. In the meantime, enjoy my books, all 99 cents for a limited time. I'd love to hear your opinion. Are my characters too dark? Not dark enough? As for me, I'll keep writing and discovering, one page at a time.
10 Comments
Mandi
7/17/2016 11:01:09
I personally love the stories that you write. The character developments of both Michael and William pulled me further into the stories. I like William Thorne and the way he is. Yes, he is flawed, I like that, it's more true to real life.... no one wants perfect. They just want someone to love them for who they are, imperfections and flaws.
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R.B.
7/25/2016 22:46:35
Thank you, Mandi! Sometimes I wonder...so this helps.
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R.B.
7/25/2016 22:56:36
Thanks, Naya! Appreciate it. Rose is slightly unlikable in her own way and so is Thorne. But I like things about each of them enough to route for them!
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7/17/2016 11:36:50
Thus far I've loved all you've written. Standing outside looking in, I can see your males growing a bit darker as you embrace your writing more. Michael was pale grey, William is medium grey, and Erik seems to be drifting more into the charcoal hues ... a good interview, RB. :)
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R.B.
7/25/2016 22:58:12
You will see! Erik is the best leading man as far as kindness goes--but Thorne has that too--as does Michael. It's funny--a lot of people think Michael is the darkest--but boy oh boy--if you read my original manuscript. I changed it DRAMATICALLY. Maybe I'll share some day. ;) Thanks for stopping by here.
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Tim Dutton
7/17/2016 16:52:38
Great interview. Great insight.
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R.B.
7/25/2016 22:58:36
Tim--your support means the world to me! Thank you.
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I LOVE to write and read. I particularly enjoy reading erotic romance that has tons of emotion in it. I hope you will ask me questions and share your favorite authors and novels. I welcome all feedback.
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