Author Interview: Lacey Reah (author of Fireflies)

Good morning, all! Sitting down with us on this chilly (but thankfully dry!) Tuesday morning is the beautiful and talented Lacey Reah. Although she's super busy promoting her debut novel, Lacey has graciously agreed to pop by and talk a little about Fireflies.

Before we get settled, however, let's take a quick look at a book that's been called "funny, deep, violent, sexual" by one reviewer, and "sexy, vivid, fast-paced, exciting" by another. Although a short read, at just under 100 pages, it's being called a story that "sucks you in and won’t even let you go after you read the last sentence."

Linda is a calculating, career-driven woman whose perfect world is shattered when she is seduced and transformed by a vampire-like creature called a nymphomite. Linda becomes a beast, feeding off the energy of orgasmically-charged blood. Convinced that her humanity has faded away, Linda adapts to her new instincts of hunger and sex. She hunts women primarily, for their longer and more frequent orgasms, and becomes a master of prolonging and intensifying their pleasure. But she never expected to find a woman like Jesse, and Linda's decision to spare her life instead of feed off her leads to a shocking turn of events that will make Linda question her beastlike identity and the humanity she thought she had lost.

I'll be giving Fireflies a read the moment the mailman decides to deliver in but, in the meantime, let's chat a bit with Lacey.

♥ Thanks so much for stopping by, Lacey. For starters, can you tell us a bit about how your past influences your writing? Are you conscious of relating the story to your own experiences?

I have learned not to bring my life into my writing.  It always comes out sounding foreign, as if I tried to take a piece of my life and insert it into a story where it doesn’t belong.  I do use characters and settings that I can relate to, as it is very hard for me to write about a place where I’ve never been.  I’ll even do things like learn to shoot a gun or taste a particular food just to see what it’s like so I can write it in my story.  I empathize with my characters the way a method actress would, but they aren’t me. 

♥ For some authors, it's coming up with a title, and for others it's writing that first paragraph - with your first book out there, what do you find is the most difficult aspect of writing? 

 It is when my characters are stuck in a complicated situation and I need to get them out or I need to complicate the plot more and I have all the components in my head, but now I need to translate that on paper.  Sometimes the words flow.  Sometimes, I have to wrestle with them.

♥ Is there a favourite quote or scene from Fireflies that you feel particularly fond of? Something that reminds you of why writing is important to you?

"After all, I start to think, when we look back, and I mean, really look back on our lives unconditionally, isn’t it the beautiful moments in time we remember? We might analyze the stories. We might question the feelings of the past, but our true, most accented memories are the brief moments that meant nothing at all, except that they were beautiful in one way or another. I might ask myself many times whether or not I loved this girl. But I’ll never question the fact that we stood on a bed of moss, surrounded by fireflies..."

♥ I love it - such a beautiful passage, with such beautiful imagery. Thanks so much for sharing it with us. Thinking about analyzing stories, when writing, do you ever consider how a reader or reviewer will react, or do you write solely for your own satisfaction? 

 If I were to write for myself, why go through the trouble of publishing?  I can keep a little private diary.  I definitely think of the reader but I do understand that everyone has a preference.

♥ Very well said! On that note, what is the strangest or most surprising reaction to your work that you've ever encountered? 

When people assume the lead character is me.

♥ Beautiful author . . . beautiful narrator . . . I can see how they might make the assumption (☺). Let's talk a bit about your reactions for a moment - when you're looking to escape into a really good book (the kind that makes you miss appointments, forget about dinner, and stay up way too late), which authors do you generally reach for, and why? 

Neil Gaiman has always succeeded in taking me to another world.  I used to read his Sandman comics and now he’s a bestselling novelist which was no surprise.  Poppy Z. Brite really influenced me, esp. when it comes to this piece.  She is very sensual and she isn’t afraid to get detailed and very intimate about subjects that are taboo to most.  Orson Scott Card always keeps me at the edge of my seat.  I also like autobiographical pieces by great historical figures.  For example, I loved the book, The Motorcycle Diaries by the very controversial revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara.  I have the autobiography of Ghandi and everything Martin Luther King Jr. and Vincent Van Gogh ever wrote.  I’m very fascinated by the intimate lives of larger than life characters.  I like works that make me think and I enjoy classic authors such as William Faulkner and The Marquis De Sade.

♥ Definitely some great choices there. When you're not writing (or reading), what are some of the hobbies and passions that keep you happy? 

 I like to move, run, hike, fight, practice yoga, play with my son and dog, lift weights, paint, teach, and watch a good movie. Oh, and I like to eat a lot.

♥ Speaking of a good movie, if Fireflies were being made into a movie, and you had total control over the production, who would you cast for the leading roles?

Linda - Scarlet Johansson or Sharon Stone
Natasha - Angelina Jolene or Nichole Kidman
Jesse - Christina Ricci or Ellen Page

♥ Okay, if I wasn't already anxious for the mailman, those images are going to keep me perched on the front porch waiting to tear the book from his hands! I know Fireflies has been descrbied as incredibly sexy, but clearly there's more to it than that. Is there a particular theme or message you're expecting readers to take away from your work?

 I experimented with some ideas regarding free will.  Do we need to be shattered before we stop to ask ourselves if we are truly living the life we want? Are the nymphomites really doomed to live their existence feeding on others?  Do they have a choice that they just haven’t discovered yet?  Do we sometimes feel like we are doomed to settle for an existence we are not completely happy with or do we have other choices that we just haven’t discovered yet?  Think of all the people who have jobs that take advantage of others or kill or destroy our environment?  They often believe they have to work there because it is their job and they are convinced by their organization that they have to do this dirty work.  How is this different from being a vampire and believing that you have to suck on people’s blood in order to survive?

I will always be experimenting with some philosophical notion.  Yet, there is so much sexual action in the story that I won’t be upset if readers don’t pick up on it.  If you enjoy the piece, I’m happy.

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A huge "thank you" to Lacey Reah for stopping by. You can check her out on the web at http://laceyreah.blogspot.com/ or http://www.myspace.com/lindafireflies. Please check back soon for my review of Fireflies . . . yes, I know it's barely 8am, but I've already checked for the mailman twice! LOL

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