Diana Laurence has been freelance writing for a quarter century and is pretty sure she can’t stop. She has written about everything from collecting NHL hockey cards to the subtleties of Jungian psychology, but her current obsession is fiction with intense romance and sensuality. She has fallen insanely in love with every protagonist she ever invented and hopes her readers will too.

Born, raised, and residing in the vicinity of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Diana shares her “empty nest” with her husband David and enjoys frequent visits by her two daughters. Her professional experience includes magazine editing, legal, finance, marketing, graphic design, and information systems. She also enjoys painting, cooking, mixology, home spa, webmastering, music, movies, and especially potato chips.

SR: Welcome to Sizzling Romances. Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Tell us about your latest release.

DL: I never seem to tire of talking about myself! LOL Seriously, I really appreciate the chance to share with your readers.

I have three new releases that all were published in early July. The first is Hunter, which came out from the Love Bites series from New Concepts Publishing. It’s the story of a mermaid who is fascinated with a shark hunter and manages to get herself captured by him.

My other two July releases are actually available free from the Living Beyond Reality Press READ FREE Project. One is a short novel set in the Star Wars universe called The Golden Padawan. It’s sort of “fan fiction on steroids”; that is, it is really pretty literary. But obviously I can’t sell it or Mr. Lucas’s lawyers would be after me! The other release is an erotic romance novella called Gift of Flesh. That one concerns a concubine who is being escorted by a soldier as a gift to a foreign king. The two fall in love and obviously that puts them in quite a predicament.

SR: How did the idea for this story come about?

DL: I’ll start with Hunter. I’ve always found the sea fascinating. I wanted to write a prisoner-type romance, with a dangerous and mysterious captor, and thought, why not a man of the sea and a mermaid?

The Golden Padawan was inspired by my fascination with the relationship of Master and Padawan in the Jedi culture. It’s way beyond mentoring. I wanted to develop the story of a male Jedi Master and his female Padawan, who are linked both in spirit and in legend. There’s a very deep bond between them but it cannot go past a certain line. Star Wars fans will love it, I hope, but meanwhile romance fans should too.

In Gift of Flesh there were a lot of character dynamics I thought I could explore; I thought of those first and built the story around them. You have two people struggling with duty in the face of their repugnance with it. Throw in that the man is bound to protect the woman, and she senses and reacts to that strongly. Then add their forbidden attraction. There’s an interesting journey with trials and dangers. But the best part is just the personalities of the two main characters. They turned out even more engaging than I hoped!

SR: What did you enjoy writing about this story and why?

DL: Hunter was fun to write because I had to invent my own merfolk culture and treat it seriously, both biologically and societally. I’m hearing from readers and reviewers that they find it a very fresh and unique approach to the mermaid concept.

The Golden Padawan was really wonderful to write because of the passion and devotion between the two characters. They do not become lovers but their relationship pretty much transcends that. It was a very powerful experience living through the story with them.

Gift of Flesh turned out to be a delight to write because I came to love the characters so much. I really did develop a closer and closer relationship with them as the writing transpired, and they both just impressed the heck out of me. I know that sounds weird, but I don’t feel like I invented them…that usually happens to me, my characters seems to come out of who knows where! LOL

SR: Tell us about any upcoming releases.

DL: I have two coming out in August, if all goes as planned. Both are from New Age Dimensions Publishing, who published my first work in March, Soulful Sex.

They will be releasing a short story of mine, “Artemis in Love,” in their Dollar Dimensions line (yep, it’s only a dollar!). The goddess Artemis meets a boy-who-won’t-grow-up type character and the interactions of the two teach both of them to make some drastic changes. It’s a truly unique romance! And no, nothing untoward happens involving being underage. LOL

My most exciting release to date is also in August, my novel Souls’ Embrace. It will be sold in paperback as well as ebook. I love all my stories and characters, but this one is most dear to my heart so far. It’s a paranormal spicy romance in a medieval-type fantasy setting, about two people who meet and woo psychically. It becomes a fascinating love triangle when this evil but charismatic man with great psychic power falls for the heroine. There are mystical relics, sword fights, and, I must confess, some pretty effective love scenes.

SR: What do you want readers to come away with after reading one of your books?

DL: I’d have to say my number one goal is always to have my readers fall in love with the hero as much as I have. Nothing makes me happier. But other than that, I also really appreciate it when the book demonstrates to the reader that sensuality and sex can be a very good, truly spiritual thing. That’s always a theme of mine. Happily, I hear it from readers and reviewers all the time, so apparently it’s working! So many people are grateful to be able to read romance that is very graphic in its presentation of sex but, at the same time, somehow wholesome and clean. That’s why I call it “erotica with soul.”

SR: What are you working on now?

DL: If I told you I’d have to kill you! No I wouldn’t, but truly, it is top secret for now. I’ll just say it’s a fantasy novel, but the details are still under wraps.

I am putting a lot of effort right now into promoting my free works. I really encourage your readers to check out the READ FREE Project at www.livingbeyondreality.com. You can read the two works right on the website, or download the ebook versions in pdf by signing up. Truly, there is no obligation at all. I just really wanted to put a couple of really good quality examples of my work out there, in the hopes that readers would enjoy them and perhaps give me some feedback. You see, to me royalties are not as cool as getting e-mails that say, “I’m madly in love with the hero of your book. PLEASE write more about him!”

So, in closing, I invite readers to visit my website at www.dianalaurence.com. You can read more about these and other works of mine, find out how to purchase them, read my theories on erotica, see goofy pictures of me and visit my art gallery, sign up for my newsletter, find links to my various essays and feature articles on various romance sites, etc. I just started out in this business this year, so I’m Desperately Seeking Fans. LOL Seriously, it’s been a total joy so far, and I look forward to sharing my work with more and more readers as time goes on.

SR: Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions.

Diana Laurence’s books are available from the following publishers:

Living Beyond Reality Press
New Age Dimension Publishing
New Concepts Publishing