Just Erotic Romance Reviews

Lose yourself amongst these two interesting and wonderfully talented authors from Loose Id - Vonna Harper and Jules Jones (Part 2)

Cont.

Jules you have a number of works in progress. How do you manage to balance your private and professional life to write so many stories?

Jules: Some of the works-in-progress are things that have been in the ideas file for years, with notes and scribbled scenes and snippets of dialogue, or even several full chapters. Others are completed short stories and novelettes that will be used as the foundation of novels. Alex and I are in different time zones, and if we're actively working on a joint project we'll work together during my morning/lunchtime, then she'll go to bed and I'll work on my current solo project. So at any one time, I'll be concentrating on one solo project, and I may be working on a joint authorship piece as well. But I'll keep adding stuff to the files for the others as it occurs to me, and if I need to think a bit about a problem in whatever I'm actively working on, I'll take a break by prodding one of the other ones for a few days. Various people know about these and every so often ask me what's happening with them, so it's easier to just have them listed on the website with their current status.

The other thing is just to sit down and write. Regularly. There are different schemes to get arse in chair and keep it there, but you have to write, and you may need to learn to insist on having time to write, depending on your circumstances. One of the common tricks passed around by sf writers for writing when juggling a day job and family and other things is to sit and write 300 words a day. I don't stick to it 100%, but I find that it does work for me.

Jules your books tend to have the sci-fi flavor theme due to your interests and chosen profession. Do you plan to write in another genre in the future?

Jules: Some of my short stories have been contemporaries, and I intend to write some book-length contemporaries. I have two pieces which I started writing as short stories for erotica anthologies and which ended up much too long for the markets I'd written them for. I hope to get to them next year. One of them will have a mystery sub-plot -- that's a genre I would like to write, but I'm not sure whether I could pull it off in a full length book more than once.

There is also an idea I had years ago for an m/m/f in a Regency setting. Alex knows a lot more about Regency than I do, so when an editor suggested I consider doing a ménage story, I asked Alex if she'd be interested in writing it with me.

Jules your books, both the individually authored books and those you've co-authored with Alex Woolgrave, have been a huge hit with readers. How does it feel to be such a success with readers and do you plan to collaborate with Ms. Woolgrave in the future?

Jules: It's been overwhelming, in a good way. There's also been an element of "Yes!" because I've known for years that there are a lot of women out there who want to read gay romance (or would enjoy it if they knew about it), but until recently it's been difficult to find it in commercially published fiction. I also know several gay men in science fiction fandom who read slash (homoerotic) fanfiction because they want an emotional relationship to go with the sex in their erotica, and most of the commercial gay men's erotica caters for the majority market; what one gay friend calls whambamthankyoumam fiction. These guys would rather read stories written by women which might get some of the physical details wrong, but which give them the romance they're looking for in a story. And they like having a plot to go with the sex, as well. Good gay erotica about a relationship was out there, but you had to make a serious effort to find it. Now there are several publishers catering to lovers of gay romance -- and more people discovering that they're not the only ones who like this sort of thing. :-)

Alex and I have been writing partners for many years ("oh god I feel old now" she says, watching me over Netmeeting as I type this), and we aren't about to stop now. There will probably be one more Syndicate book, and we have some other projects in mind. I'm also prodding her to finish her current solo project, a gay librarian romance.

Now for the fun questions.

If you could spend a day with anyone (living or dead) and ask them one question, who would it be and what would the question be?

Vonna: I'd like to spend the day with my grandfather and ask him what really happened the day he died at the bottom of a canyon impaled on a steering column at age 36. I've never accepted the police report that he'd stolen the car (from a man who later died in prison). With a wife and three little children and nothing remotely hinting at a criminal bend, he had too much at stake. He was a writer and I'd love to go for a long walk with him. Tell him that his death impacted generations.

Jules: So many to choose from... I think Galileo, but my answer might be different tomorrow.

What are your hobbies outside of writing?

Vonna: I'm a baseball fanatic aka junkie. I enjoy outdoor photography, hiking, yard work, of course reading. Weird as it seems, I like to paint-like walls and houses.

Jules: Reading, science fiction fandom (I go to several cons a year and spend a fair bit of time talking to other fans and sf writers online), gardening (although not much of that at the moment as we're in a rented house), cooking, cross-stitch embroidery, editing fanzines, swearing at recalcitrant computers... I used to go to the theatre a lot, but that was with a group of friends in the UK, so that hobby's on hold for the moment.

If one of your books is being made into a movie which book would it be, and who would you like to see play the parts?

Vonna: Hmm. I've never gone there. Not much wishful thinking in me. I'd like to see my mainstream Native American historical Soul of the Sacred Earth as a movie but with no-name actors so the focus is on the ancient Navajo and Hopi cultures, not hunks on screen.

Jules: It would be fun to see The Syndicate as a film, but if anyone made it into a film it would be a porn film company, I think. :-) Though Alex cynically says it has far too much dialogue for a porn flick. You could make it into a TV series, as it's written with an episodic structure. Mindscan would probably make a good film.

If your friends had to describe you what would they say?

Vonna: Space cadet. Vivid imagination. Slob. Quiet. Loyal.

Jules: Alex did offer a suggestion, then retracted it on the grounds that it was not very diplomatic, and I'd kill her next time we're on the same continent. ("Too much like Allard" would be the polite version.) She has a tendency to refer to me as the Brain of the outfit. Presumably this makes her Pinky, even if neither of us have ever actually seen the cartoon in question.

What do you think readers would be surprised to discover about you?

Vonna: A couple of things come to mind but I'm keeping them under wraps - the whole religious/political belief bit. Then I have strong opinions about right to die but that too doesn't need to concern readers. Playing it safe, let's say I can't remember how many books I've written-somewhere in the neighborhood of 50. Present and future work interests me, not the past.

Jules: I'm a woman...This all started because the first pro market I ever submitted to was a gay sf anthology from a small press erotic sf publisher who prefers that for her "orientation" themed anthologies the writers use names that don't rub the readers' noses in the fact that the hot gay action might be written by women (and the hot lesbian action by men). I kept on with the gender-ambiguous name because to begin with I was mostly submitting to gay erotica markets. But I've left my website and blog non-committal about my gender because I'm still selling to the gay erotica market as well as to the romance market.

Do you have any "guilty" indulgences?

Vonna: Doritos. A subscription to a certain, ah, "adult" website.

Jules: Yes. And no, I'm not going to tell you about them. They're *guilty* indulgences. :-) Besides, some of them wouldn't make any sense to people outside the relevant sub-culture. (Slash turkey read, anyone?)

Do you have a favorite sexual position? (For your characters ;-))

Vonna: Nope. Give me variety-for my characters.

Jules: Mmm. I try to provide variety for the readers, but... There is this CD of pictures I downloaded from alt.binaries.pictures.erotic.gaymen for the benefit of an artist friend who was having trouble getting good artist's reference photos of naked men -- artist's reference books tend to focus on the female nude for some strange reason. Since it was actually intended as reference material, rather than drooling material, I made a serious attempt to get a good selection of positions, body types, etc, but there are only so many pictures of naked men you can look at in a week before getting bored with the ones that aren't your thing. So towards the end I wasn't quite as careful about having a wide range. And several people who've received copies of that CD have mentioned, "My, you do like pictures of sodomy, don't you, Jules?" :-) (Although some of them phrased it less politely than that...) [It occurs to me that I should explain that in British English "sodomy" means specifically "anal intercourse".]

What do you find sexy in a man?

Vonna: Large, work-hardened hands

Jules: Brains and a nice voice.

Do you have a favorite sex toy?

Vonna: Bullets.

Jules: My favorite sex toy is not actually used as a sex toy. I have repetitive strain injury in my wrists and hands (I've heard all the jokes, thank you) and also tend to pull my shoulder every so often. I use a Pocket Rocket massager *as* a massager, which occasionally causes raised eyebrows when I do so in public. If you think that this is getting off the topic, might I point out that being in severe pain does not do wonders for my libido, and thus indirectly the Pocket Rocket does improve my sex life.

What is your favorite cuss word?

Vonna: Depends on the situation. "Damn" for the real world. My characters say what they need to, when they need to.

Jules: Depends on the situation. Sometimes one requires a word just to express general feelings, sometimes one requires an adjective, sometimes one requires a noun. I try not to use the words "fuckwit" and "wanker" of other drivers while driving if I have passengers...

What sound do you hate the most?

Vonna: Rap Music

Jules: Background music, TV, etc that isn't quiet enough to *be* background. I hate trying to hold a conversation over allegedly background noise that makes me strain to hear what other people are saying. Restaurants and pubs, please note.

What sound do you love to hear?

Vonna: Wind in the trees

Jules: The wildlife in my garden. I'm in a city, but there's a lot of small wildlife here. As I type, I'm sitting with the patio door open and I can hear two jays on the patio talking to one another about something or other. A few minutes ago a hummingbird was buzzing about and squeaking.

If Heaven exists, what would you like God to say when you arrive?

Vonna: "You didn't expect this, did you?"

Jules: "Well done, not perfect but good effort, time for a nice break before you go back for your next try."

How can your readers contact you?

Vonna:
Website: www.vonnaharper.com
Email:vharper@charter.net

Jules:
Website: www.julesjones.com
Yahoo groups:
Announcements: JulesJonesAnnouncements-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Chat: JulesJonesChat-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Blog: www.livejournal.com/users/julesjones

I would like to thank Vonna Harper and Jules Jones for taking the time to visit with us here at Just Erotic Romance Reviews. I appreciate that these lovely ladies took the time from their busy schedules and various commitments to contribute to our latest newsletter.

The Coordinators and Reviewers at Just Erotic Romance Reviews wish to congratulate Vonna Harper and Jules Jones on their achievements and wish them much future success in their writing endeavors.

Click here to read part 1 of the interview.

Back to Interviews 2005