Primula Bond
Erotic Romance
This week's author already has FOUR five-star reviews for her new release and more come in daily. Her book is quickly climbing the erotic romance charts! Please help me welcome Primula as we sit down to chat with her.
Primula Bond has been writing erotica for
more than 20 years. She started with short stories for magazines and has
written novels and novellas for Black Lace, Accent Press, Mischief and Avon.
She works as a 'book doctor' for the Writers' Workshop and delivers workshops
at writing festivals. Her most recent work, Pierre, is a sequel to the
Unbreakable Trilogy which followed the passionate and dangerous passion between
Gustav Levi and Serena Folkes, and explores the bad guy Pierre as he tries to
come to terms with an accident that nearly killed him, and whether he can ever
make amends.
Tonya: Primula, it's a pleasure to once again have you visit and chat with my readers. They love to know more
about their authors. Tell us a bit about yourself.
Primula: I am one of four sisters educated
at a Catholic convent, where I became head girl and where I developed my slight
obsession with the erotic potential of nuns and the mystique and rituals of
Catholicism. I studied English at Oxford before living in Egypt for two years
and I have also lived in Venice and London. I started writing erotica when I
was a single mother with my eldest son and now masquerade as a respectable wife
and mother of three sons living in a lovely English city who raises
immaculately groomed eyebrows when my 'other life' as an erotica writer is
revealed! I also sing, take portrait photographs and love eating and traveling.
Tonya: Do you have a day job?
Primula: I work part time as a secretary
for a firm of defence criminal lawyers, which has given me an insight and
interest in the criminal world as well as the rarified atmosphere of the
barristers and Judges in a law court.
Tonya: Some of us have things we do
to get into the writing frame of mind like music, or drinks. Do you have
anything special you do to get into the writing mood?
Primula: In the old days it might be the
odd joint or two to get me going, but now it's more likely to be a large glass
of chenin blanc. Actually, I write better during the day when the house is
empty of husbands and sons, and particularly in the morning, so I am more
likely to be fueled these days by several cups of strong coffee. I have the
corner of a particular sofa in a particular room where I seem best able to
concentrate.
Tonya: Where do you keep story ideas?
Where do they come from?
Primula: My ideas come from my own memories
of people or travels, or situations, but they also come from overheard conversations,
scenes glimpsed from a train window, anecdotes gleaned at the school gate or
dinner parties, or sometimes purely from my extremely vivid imagination. I keep
paper and pen near me at all times, even in the car or the bath, in case I get
an idea and don't want to let it float away.
Tonya: How is the publishing aspect going for you?
Primula: I'm lucky that my erotic romance
series is published by a major publisher, Harper Collins, but they didn't take
on some of the 'non-erotic' short stories I wrote under my real name, so I
self-published those on Amazon in a volume entitled 'Stabbing the Rain'. To be
honest they've had great reviews from the handful of readers but my publicity
hasn't been very efficient.
Tonya: Congratulation on being with Harper Collins! What advice would you give to
new authors?
Primula: First, read. Read the type of
fiction you would like to write. Study how successful authors ply their trade,
from the way they set out the text to how they portray characters and dialogue.
As a 'book doctor' for the website Writers Workshop, I am amazed how many new
writers say they are 'too busy' to read, but are confident they can write
because they are university lecturers or whatever, then have no idea how to set
out their story – and don't get me started on appalling grammar or pompous,
over-elaborate prose. Next, be passionate and dedicated. That will shine
through, even if the technicalities need some polishing. Have a plan and a
vague deadline for your work, otherwise the project will drag on for years.
Carry a notebook round with you wherever you go. Never ask family or friends to
read your work and give an opinion. It's not fair to either of you. They won't
give an entirely objective view and you will be easily offended if they do.
Give it to a professional critique service like the one I work for and be
prepared to pay for genuine, constructive advice! Finally, grow a thick skin.
Those rejection letters never stop hurting, but if you are lucky enough to get
a constructive one then learn from it and try again.
Tonya: Do you write better when you
first have an idea of what your characters look like or do you write, then add
character looks?
Primula: The looks are pretty much there
from the start. Certainly with the flame-haired heroine of my trilogy, Serena.
She is basically, as the Berocca advert goes, like me but on a really good day.
And younger. Sexier. More beautiful. And far more feisty. The brothers Gustav
and Pierre are my dream men. Dark, mysterious, damaged, seeking love, dynamite
in bed. And Rosa is the kind of Latina sultry beauty I always wanted to be, and
I've made her a singer, so I can indulge in my erstwhile ambition of becoming a
jazz singer. So yes, the initial impressions for both of them were there from
the start, but the details, individual quirks and back story grow as the story
goes along, and if a new character introduces themselves to me they spring on
to the stage fully formed physically but an essential part of story telling is
to introduce various details little by little, as in real life. That's when you
have to be careful as a story teller not to tell, but to show, and to make
characters three dimensional.
Tonya: What attracts you most about
men?
Primula: I like them tall and attractive,
strong and with deep voices, well educated, reasonably well off, but I also
like them to be sensitive, funny, intelligent and extremely fertile. Too much
to ask, do you think???
Tonya: Certainly not! We’re dying to hear about your
latest book. What can you tell us without spoiling the story-line?
Primula: The fourth book in what started
out as the Unbreakable Trilogy but has now become the Silver Chain series is
called Pierre, and it is about the naughty younger brother of the hero Gustav
Levi. He was a charismatic but destructive character in the trilogy, and I
deliberately wrote him as someone my readers were supposed to dislike, but I
wanted to explore whether true love could save someone like him. It has proved
to be a challenge to persuade readers that the bad guy really can turn around,
and so far the reviews have all said they actually fell in love with him. In
this book he starts out very badly injured after an accident, and he feels he
has been punished for his sins. But the question remains. Can a leopard ever
really change his spots?
Tonya: Where can our readers find you
and your books?
Primula: Some lucky UK readers can find my
books on the shelves of W H Smiths, but mostly they are available on
Amazon. Pierre is currently only available as an e-book, but I hope this
will be available as a 'print on demand' paperback soon.
Tonya: Is there anything else you
want to tell our readers?
Primula: I want to encourage readers
to get to know me and my characters and especially readers who love Fifty
Shades, because my trilogy is unashamedly romantic as well as explicit. For
those who love English characters, mine meet in London, but travel to New York,
Paris, Venice and Morocco and meet a gallery of other characters along the way,
some of whom are out to get them.
Every so often I like to do a book give
away, usually when I reach a milestone with my number of Twitter followers, so readers can watch for that.
Tonya: Tell us a few things readers might not know. What is your favorite night time
snack?
Primula: Crackers and very strong cheddar,
and either hot chocolate or the aforementioned chenin blanc.
Tonya: Do you like toppings on your
ice cream?
Primula: I can't eat ice cream as it makes
my teeth tingle, but I have a very sweet tooth especially when it comes to
chocolate and raspberries.
Tonya: What’s your favorite meal -
Italian, Mexican, Thai, etc?
Primula: If I had to boil it down (pun
intended) I'd settle for Italian food. I love pasta, pizza, meat stuffed with
mozzarella or wrapped in proscuitto, tiramisu, insalata tricolore...
Tonya: Readers, there you have it. Enjoy the excerpt. Please visit her Amazon page and websites. You can connect with Primula at Twitter and FaceBook!
Excerpt from 'Pierre:
He slammed my arms above my head, on the
window. The air conditioning was so cold on my skin. I was all goosebumps.
Prickling, sensitive goosebumps. I had to press my tits against the glass. I
like to rub until the nipples are burning.'
'This
isn't you, Rosie. You sound so angry.'
I
try to wrench my wrists away from him, but he has them fast, and heat is
building up my arm. The taxi turns into the park and starts to drive across it,
towards Bayswater.
'Men
like their women bitter, don't they? Makes them grateful for what they can
get.'
'Rosie.
You can stop this now. I -'
'It
didn't matter what he did to me. How he treated me. I'm just the carer, after
all.'
I
wait for his response, but his face is expressionless. Just a muscle twitching
in his cheek. A flare of dark light behind his eyes.
'Your
words, Levi. Not mine. So your friend, he was naked now. He doesn't go for
foreplay. Maybe we were hot enough already. His cock was there, shoving into my
buttocks. Big, hard, everything a girl could want. Off he went, grinding,
pushing my thighs apart, pulling me so I was bent forwards, leaning on the
window for support. Suddenly the track ended, embarrassing when that happens,
and in that moment of two of ghastly silence you could just hear my hands,
squeaking against the glass. Just his breath against my hair.'
Surprising
rain drops start to fall on the taxi roof. Haphazardly at first, then breaking
into a summer storm.
' 'The
next track started. Figure it out. Loud enough to make your ears crackle.'
'I
know,' growls Pierre, dragging at my wrist so I'm a little closer. 'I've heard
that one, too.'
I
look away from him, out of the car window, the city divided from us by a
curtain of rain. I can see my reflection in the glass, just huge staring eyes,
no other features.
'So
I bent over , hands splayed against the window as if I was trying to get out. I
was in that room while your friend, a virtual stranger, banged me.'
Pierre
flinches. His eyelids narrow. He's pulled me closer to him so that I'm jammed
up against his leg. It must hurt, but he shows no feeling at all. The taxi is
at the north gates of Kensington Gardens, indicating to go right towards Marble
Arch.
'No
blinds in those apartments. No curtains. Bright spotlights in the ceilings and
darkness outside, so the whole of London can watch. All those other bright windows,
eyes searching the night, people walking beneath us, boats on the Thames, cars
crossing the river. I wanted to shout at all of them come on, watch me!'
'I'd
love to watch you, Rosie,' murmurs Pierre, loosening his fingers. There are
four dents on each one and a thumb-shaped bruise underneath. 'But only me. Not
the whole of London.'
'Do
you know what Daniele used to say when we were in bed? Me dicen tu fantasia.'
'And
what is your fantasy?'
The
heat is dying down now. In fact, I'm starting to shiver. Pierre puts his arm
round me.
'I
wasn't quite wet. The resistance, the hint of pain, the giving pop was all the
hornier.' I shift forward on the seat, but he keeps hold of me. 'We moved. It
was really uncomfortable, pinned by him, pushing awkwardly against the window,
my thighs were aching. A red bus trundled across the bridge. A neat row of
faces on the top deck all turned to look out.'
I
keep my eyes on my reflection, just as I am in this story.
'The
track changed to a drumming solo, frenzied, tribal, and Robinson was thrusting
in time to it, banging me up against the window, lifting me with the force of
it. In the glass we looked like animals humping and then he was coming,
shouting. I couldn't hear him because the drumming was repeating itself, over
and over, stuck in a riff like a runaway train on broken tracks.'
I'm
wandering in my story now, losing concentration. At some point I've started
crying, because tears are trickling down my cheeks. I'm talking about this
other guy and yet all I'm conscious of is Pierre's arm around me, his fingers
fanned over my side.
'Did
you come, Rosie? Did Robinson Junior make you come?'
I
close my eyes, get myself back to the story.
'He
was gripping my hips so as not to slip out, staying stiff, still rocking. I
thought he was going to start all over again. I closed my eyes, I wanted to
visualise the man I really want, and it worked, I was closer than I thought,
and in a quick burst I came, then my knees buckled, he was slipping out of me,
and I just fell down on the hard floor.
He tried to help me up but I shook him off and he walked off.'
'We're
nearly there. Is this story true?'
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