Dark Side Night: An Interview with Maryn Sinclair

Domination, submission, bondage…Laura Holden has only fantasized about them while reading the pages of her favorite erotica novels. A longtime widow, she’s been content to raise her son and run her bookstore. But when she meets her son’s sexy future father-in-law, he offers her a taste of the real thing. Though no man has ignited her desires like Blake, Laura senses he’s holding back a secret.

After Blake Conover’s ex-wife dumped him for a Dom, he vowed he’d no longer be a sexual bore, changing his ways by exploring the world of BDSM clubs. In Laura Holden he finds a hot new partner eager to live out her fantasies, and he’s more than happy to comply. He’ll take her on an erotic adventure at The Dark Side, a private club where anything goes. But one part of his past he’ll keep to himself, at least for now.

Will their games of sexual one-upmanship turn into something more? After a night at The Dark Side, neither Blake nor Laura can stay the same.

Goodreads

When I received Dark Side Night from the publisher for review, I started reading and couldn't put it down. The idea of a bookseller who had read books about BDSM and had  the opportunity to actually go to a club and see the lifestyle first hand had me more than a little interested. What I didn't expect was to fall into the story at page one by falling into a historical erotic romance. Throughout  the novel, you as a reader fall into the book the main character is reading and then follow her adventure into a new relationship and with some moderate BDSM overtones.


What I liked about this book:


The characters felt like real people. That has to be one of the most important things that either grabs me as a reader, or turns me off completely. With this book, there was no question. The voice had me at the onset-even when I was confused at the opening of the book as it ramped into a stereotypical erotic romance period piece. 


Something else I am learning as I explore new and wonderful erotica novels-the love scenes have to feel natural. Maryn did a great job making you feel like you were right there as new experiences changed the dynamics of their relationship. Having characters that are in their 40's and may not be airbrush perfect is something I want to see more of. Erotica that touches how real life can be. Erotica doesn't have to be just on pages of romance novels, as our leading lady found in this book. It can happen in the everyday.


What I didn't: 


Not a thing. 


Overall:


This book was a second chance at romance with a bookseller (dear to my heart) who loved romance novels and erotica and read one whenever she could (hmmm...sounds familiar too!) and a professor with some interesting secrets of his own. Their kids are getting married and they also hit it off with some pretty interesting fireworks. The action and dialogue were real feeling and I found myself turning the pages to see whether we would be catching up on the period romance or finding a new BDSM trick from the handsome professor. 


5/5 


I loved this book. It is a great summer read! If you enjoyed books like The Dark Garden, 50 Shades of Grey, Undone Rebel and many more that are a journey of awakening and finding that little kink that makes life interesting.

Now for the interview!



1. In your book, I love the way you balance the reading of the historical erotica novel with the main character's life. I loved that! How hard was that to write?


 First I had to decide what period I wanted for the secondary story. My first choice was right after the Civil War, but there were complications I didn’t want to deal with. I settled on the first decade of the twentieth century, then researched whether there was gas for lighting or the emerging new technology of electricity in rural Georgia at that time. Easy―gas. Also, since the female in that part of the story was Parisian, what did she wear, what did the Georgia landowner wear—i.e. how were his pants constructed, his living style, etc. Researching the clothes was easy. There were plenty of references. 


2. Having the main character a bookseller who has read erotica for years and now has the chance to experience some of it first hand was a great story line. What inspired you to write this story?


 I think some people get to a certain age and wonder what they’ve missed, so I set out for two interesting, educated, middle-aged characters who, for their own personal reasons, want to explore their sexual, even kinky sides. Older characters aren’t very common in erotic romance. The H/h are always young and mostly hot. Why couldn’t a couple in their mid-forties be leads in an erotic romance? 


3. Visiting the BDSM club was quite the experience! Have you ever been to one and was it much like you portrayed?


 No, I’ve never been to an adult club. I read about some real ones and incorporated different aspects into The Dark Side.


4. Do you listen to music as you write, or prefer silence? Do your books inspire a playlist-because I would love to hear it.


 Total silence. I often write outdoors and hear birds, but that’s about it.


5. What would you tell a new author that is considering a career of writing erotica?


 What I would tell any author writing any genre. Do your homework and write a good story. Pay attention to grammar and punctuation. Rely on strong verbs. Make the characters believable. Keep the writing straight―in other words, don’t go over the top with cheesy adjectives and descriptions. If some simile or metaphor stops me as a reader, it also stops the story. Don’t do it.


6. Can you tell me some erotica authors that have inspired you in your work?


 Since I’m always writing, my reading time is limited, but I love Nikita Black, aka Nina Bruhns. She puts her characters in the most outrageous situations—really over the top, but somehow she makes it work and with humor. That’s very hard to do.


7. Do you write anything else other than erotica?


 Yes, I write suspense/mystery/romantic suspense as Polly Iyer, my real name. (I have no problem divulging that since I’m not ashamed of writing erotic romance. I do want to keep the genres separate, though.) “She” has four books on Amazon and has had very good reviews. There’s always a murder or two—or three—a romance, and a character who treads ethical lines. Always. Storylines: A blind psychologist and a deaf cop forced into counseling, a psychic entertainer in New Orleans stalked by a psychic killer, an ex-high-class call girl forced into working for a sexy sex crimes investigator, and a man who served 15 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit being framed for a similar crime. 


8. What are some of your hobbies when you don't have pen (or keyboard) in hand?


 Reading, of course, movies when I have the chance. I’ve had four different careers, worked hard over the years, so I’m enjoying my passion right now, which is writing.


9. What is your favorite kind of erotica to write? (BDSM, conflicted characters, romantic, edgy...)


 I will not write anything that demeans or humiliates women. Just won’t. I don’t see anything wrong with others writing or reading it, but it’s just not anything that turns me on. Women fought too hard to get equal rights, still fighting for them, so I won’t make their plight more difficult by putting them in a subservient position. I don’t mind a little D/s, but it has to be reciprocal and/or consensual. If it’s consensual, it can’t be because she’s insecure. It has to be because she’s curious. If you don’t understand that, read DARK SIDE NIGHT. 


 I don’t think I’ve ever written anything in any genre that didn’t have a conflicted character, more than one sometimes. I love my characters to overcome adversity. My hero in The Escort is a blind Iraq war vet. He’s rich, handsome, limited by his disability but not tortured by it, and amazingly sexy. The female has a history as an abused wife. In Sexual Persuasion, my male character questions his own sexual identity, hence the play on words in the title. And since you read DARK SIDE NIGHT, you know that the male character is driven by his past. These types of characters intrigue me. I would find writing the perfect man or woman boring. For me, my characters drive the story. Oh, and I must fall in love with the heroes. If I don’t, I don’t see how my female characters could.

10. What is your current writing project? (So I can make sure it ends up on my Goodreads list!)


 I have two going right now. I don’t want to get heavily into the erotic romance novel, because I’m not sure how it ends. But I will say that it’s in the suspense genre, and the characters are a former Black Ops soldier and two lesbians. You can put your imagination to work with that description, but I bet you won’t come up with the storyline. My other book is a sequel to one of my thrillers. The main character is a psychic entertainer.


Thanks so much for taking the time to answer these, Maryn!


Thanks for having me. You asked great questions. 

Here are some of Maryn's titles so you can add them to your TBR
list.

For more information about Maryn Sinclair, make sure you visit her on her Goodreads page and her website. 


Look her up here also:

MarynSinclair(at)gmail(dot)com

Facebook

Twitter: @MarynSinclair

Check out my author page on the Loose Id website:

http://www.loose-id.com/Our-Authors/Maryn-Sinclair/

Check out my author's page on the Ellora's Cave website:

http://www.jasminejade.com/m-832-maryn-sinclair.aspx