Please welcome Giselle Renarde to the blog, author of ONDINE and AUDREY & LAWRENCE.  Thank you for agreeing to answer my nosy questions and share them with everyone visiting today.

Q: To begin, please share which genre(s) you write in…

A: I’m up to my eyelashes in Erotica.  I write it all: straight, gay, lesbian, bi, queer and questioning, and ménage of all sorts, from m/f/f/f to f/m/m/m/m/m!  There’s great variation from work to work.

Q: Out of all the stories you’ve written, which is your favorite?

A: Oh, that’s like choosing your favourite child! I mean, there’s a clear winner, but you hate to admit it.  “Third Rail” is close to my heart, as it’s largely based on real life events.  (I know I shouldn’t fess up to stuff like that, but you can keep a secret, right?)  “Third Rail” is a story from lyd Alterotica’s “TransFix” line of authentic transgender erotica.  Bisexual BDSM, anyone?

Q: Do you need to be in a specific place or atmosphere before the words flow?

A: I’m not a muse-driven author, so I’m not too picky when it comes to atmosphere.  I know this sounds terribly unsexy, but for me it’s work that needs to get done, like anything else.  That said, I find I write best and most on my Mac in the wee hours of the morning.

Q: What’s the strangest source of inspiration you’ve found for a story?

A: I once wrote a romance story about a pair of penguins: “Penguins in a Dangerous Time.”  It was for the 2009 blog action day on the topic of climate change.

Q: If you could offer one tidbit of information for new writers, what would it be?

A: Submit your work everywhere and be humble when you get those rejection letters.  Rejection’s just part of the game.  It never goes away.  Accept constructive criticism.  Take everyone’s advice-someone’s bound to be right eventually.

Q: Do you have an evil day job or do you write full time?

A: I did what every author dreams of and quit my day job to write.  When I get antsy, I do contract work-everything from warehouse work to grading exam papers.

Q: Name one thing readers would be surprised to learn about you.

A: I never jaywalk. Never.

Q: Do you have any tattoos or piercings?

A: Depends who’s asking.  If it’s the police, I swear that wasn’t me jaywalking.  I never, never do it. *grin*

Q: If you could be intimate with three people (not necessarily all at one time *g*) without getting in trouble with your significant other, who would they be?

A: Oh, my girlfriend wouldn’t mind in the least because she’s one of my three.  In fact, she’s my top pick.  We’ve decided to indulge in a threesome with Professor Snape from Harry Potter, and then she’ll watch me get it on with pin-up model Bernie (Belle) Dexter.  Is that weird?

Q: If you won the lottery tomorrow, what would you spend the money on?

A: Food and women.  Meaning, I would donate most of it to charitable organizations that feed the hungry and give women and other members of marginalized populations chances to improve their lives and the lives of their families.  The rest I’d spend on fancy dinners and prostitutes.

Q: Which household chore do you abhor and why?

A: Dusting.  I have two cats and their fur forms the most elusive tumbleweeds you’ve ever seen.  It even gets stuck in between the pages of all the books on my bookshelves.

Q: What’s your favorite comfort food?

A: Christmas Dinner.  In my mind, that’s just one food.  Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, biscuits and veg and pumpkin pie all meld together into the perfect comfort food.  And it has to be cooked by my mother.  She’s a terrible cook, but that doesn’t matter.  It tastes like home.

Q: Do you have a favorite book or movie?

A: As an ally-advocate of the transgender community and the partner of a trans woman, I think “TransAmerica” is an important movie.  It’s highly approachable in terms of plot and character, and I think it provides a pretty authentic outlook on being transgender.

Q: In closing, tell us a bit about your latest release (& share a yummy excerpt for those who aren’t yet familiar with your work)

A: My novella “Ondine: An Erotic Tale of Art and Deception” is pansexual in the sense that it contains one straight romance, two lesbian romances, and one polyamorous adventure.  “Audrey & Lawrence” is a complete collection of all my-you guessed it-”Audrey & Lawrence” stories.  These shorts have been published far and wide, and explore the relationship between an older married man and his younger mistress-from the mistress’ perspective.  Now they are together at last, along with a number of never-before-released stories and a foreword by the author.  That’s me.

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To learn more about Giselle Renarde, please visit her website http://www.freewebs.com/gisellerenarde/ or blog http://donutsdesires.blogspot.com