Spring Celebration Interview: Carmenica Diaz

Welcome to our first Spring Celebration interview, a brief chat with the lovely, talented, and incredibly prolific Carmenica Diaz. Ms. Diaz has been writing and publishing FemDom & Transgender fetish fiction since 2004. Her work is either hard & nasty, or soft & tender, depending on her moods. Since 2004, she has produced many Female Domination classics as well as Transgender Romance novels, which are loved by many readers.

When asked to use single words to describe Carmenica, a close friend chose the following – impatient, dominant, arrogant, tender, caring, romantic, hurtful, precise, nasty, supportive, and mercurial. As for her writing, one fan has said “it is the dialogue that makes the story comes alive. It is easy to imagine yourself in such an erotic situation!”

Ms. Diaz has graciously agreed to stop by for a chat as part of our Spring Celebration, and to help support our Gender Identity & Expression reading challenge. Her latest transgender work is a 2-volume entry in her Seduced Into Stockings series, entitled Ms Bond:

Julian willingly falls under the spell of the enigmatic Ms Bond. Initially her personal assistant, Julian is slowly transformed by the woman he adores. Seduced into stocking, Julian discovers a part of himself he did not know existed. He feels comfortable and at home with Ms Bond, a woman he would do anything for. And then . . .

Now, without further ado, let's learn a little bit about the woman behind the bondage, the humiliation, the worship, the nylons, the shoes, and all the sexy girl stuff!

♥ Thanks so much for stopping by, and for being so quick to offer your support. For starters, especially for those who may be new to your writing, please tell us a little about yourself.

Oh, hate talking about myself! Here goes. Born outside of the UK but went to university in the United Kingdom. Taught there for a while but teaching was not for me so left the UK a few years ago to live in Europe with my partner. English is my second language, though and that is my excuse for my small mistakes in my writing. Spend my time writing and travelling now, enjoying life.

♥ You've published an awe-inspiring 70+ femdom and transgender titles since 2004 . . . looking back, how did you feel when you first saw your work in print?

Actually, I've written well over 150 books as I first published lesbian love stories under another name and it was those books that appeared first in print. It was exciting and loved the feeling of achieving something for the first time.

♥ If you don't mind me asking, how is it that an "accomplished woman of academia" came to be a writer of erotic fiction? Was there something specific that drew you to the genre, or something you feel it offers that other forms of literature do not?

It certainly is a long way from medieval history! *smile* Perhaps it is because I can write anything I like! My audience is very forgiving and seems to enjoy whatever I write so I can approach themes that mainstream writing does not cover – power exchanges, ideas of self, identity, position in society. There is also a large market for both genres.

♥ Granted, the themes of female domination and transgender expression often go together, but you've also tackled them separately, in very different ways (especially with your romantic transgender tales). Why did you choose those two themes in particular?

The FemDom stories are usually harsh and, sometimes, confronting. They are also difficult to write in many ways because of the difficulty of putting myself in another’s shoes, so to speak. However, there is a huge demand for that style of fiction.

Transgender is a way for me to explore my gentler side with love and romance from a female point of view. It is easier to write for that reason.

♥ With your female domination erotica, you've explored both F/m and F/f relationships. As a writer, which do you find the most enjoyable to explore, and which do you find presents the greatest challenge?
 

Definitely F/m. F/f is where I first started when there was a lack of lesbian romance/domination erotica written by a woman. I understand the nuances of F/f attraction and domination very well. I challenge myself by writing F/m from the male point of view and that requires thought as well as submersing myself in the character. A good writer should be able to write any character and, must admit, my early attempts at F/m from a male POV were woeful. Better forgotten! In the “A Different Marriage” series, the POV varies and that is a little easier to write.

♥ Well, speaking as a fan of both your FemDom and Transgender work, I can attest to the fact that you manage to portray both viewpoints very well. Was making the move from transgender romances (like Body Double and Both Sides Now) to a harder, more dominating form of TG fiction (like the Forced Into Stockings series) a natural evolution, or was there something specific that took your writing in that direction?

To be frank, it was a way of making it a little easier writing FemDom and there were so many emails wanting something of this sort.

♥ Given how wonderfully open and accommodating your fiction is, and how 'real' your characters seem, I'm sure many readers must wonder about the woman behind the page. How has your own life influenced your writing?

There is no doubt my life has influenced but not as actual scenes. There are some autobiographical moments in “The Submissive Husband” but those “real” moments are usually starting points. The current FemDom series “A Different Marriage” is based on some real life moments but not mine, just ones I have observed within my circle of friends. The real pieces are altered dramatically.

♥ Now, I realise being asked to pick a favourite book is like being asked to pick a favourite child, but is there a particular quote or scene from your work that you feel particularly fond of?

 My personal favourites are “Other Shoes”, “Avenging Annie” and “Searching for Jim”. Those books I am quite proud of. The quotes I like are some of the humour in “Other Shoes”.

♥ If we can continue to make the other literary children jealous for a moment, let's suppose for a moment that you were offered the chance to film one of your works, with total control over the production - who would you cast for the leading roles?
 

Oh, that is difficult but what a lovely game! Let me see. Let’s take “Dreamsome”! Always thought that would be easy to film, a Christmas romance with some magic.

As Freya, Lenora Crichlow would be perfect (plays the ghost in the UK series “Being Human”) while Dale could be played by Jude Law or Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Dales mother by Helen Mirren and…have run out of steam. Sorry!

♥ When writing, do you ever consider how a reader or reviewer will react, or do you write primarily for your own satisfaction? Have you ever gone so far as to write a story for (or in response to) a reader?

Write entirely for my own purpose. Tried to write on order once for a reader and it was a disaster. Part of the fun for me is seeing where the characters go so do not plan the books at all.

♥ I'm sure your reading audience is as diverse as it is dedicated, but I must ask - what is the strangest or most surprising reaction to your work that you've ever encountered?

One reader accused me of being “Anti-American” because I do not feature America or Americans! That was before “Avenging Annie” and “Other Shoes”, by the way, both of which are set in the US. Don’t know America that well and the speech and language is quite different. Dialogue is important to me. In most of my books the story is told through the dialogue and simply cannot get the rhythms of American speech right!

Have also received the odd abusive email – in fact, had a run of them a year back but it’s best to ignore those poor people, although my natural tendency is to bite their heads off!

♥ It always amazes me that people invest so much time in being abusive . . . I think biting their heads off is an appropriate response! Is there a particular author who has influenced or inspired your writing? Somebody who either made you want to write erotica in the first place, or who refreshes your literary batteries?

This is probably awful but no, not really.

♥ Fair enough, but when you're not writing (or reading), what are some of the hobbies and passions that keep you happy?

Music, painting and art (trying some sculpture at the moment) and fashion! Always enjoy attending a  fashion week if I can,  have been to Milan fashion week and London but not Paris. Not to the major shows of the major fashion houses, of course, but love the feeling in the air and the clothes!  Attend jazz festivals in Europe as well. Also have recently purchased a summer house and there are some basic renovations required so involved in that at the moment. Luckily my partner can talk to builders and make sense of it all.

♥ A very un-American life . . . and one that I quite envy! If we can impose upon your experience for a moment, what advice would you give to an emerging author? Is there anything you've done that worked exceptionally well, or something you wish you had done differently?

 Advice? Love giving advice, much to my friends chagrin!

Write as much as you can! Do not try to tell a story from the beginning to the end. Write what excites you. You can always assemble it later into a coherent order. Rewrite and slash and burn what you have written.

Get a good editor who will tell you the truth.

As for me – well, I actually dislike intensively all my books once they’re finished. It took me twelve months to be able to reread “Other Shoes” and then thought it wasn’t a bad book. Before that, hated it!

The one thing I have learned is that writers are their own worst critics.

♥ That's interesting . . . and a bit encouraging. I know I always have a hard time reading my own work, no matter how much I enjoyed writing a particular scene. Before I let you go, what can we look forward to from you next? Is there a project on the horizon that you're really excited about?

I am working a large transgender fantasy set in the times of Pre-History on an alternate Earth of swords and sorcerers! It’s going well and have written 100,000 words in the first draft which is not finished yet!

More work on the “New Rome” FemDom series and the ongoing series “A Different Marriage”. Always write three books at once.

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A huge "thank you" to Carmenica Diaz for stopping by. You can check her out on the web at http://carmenicadiaz.net/. In addition to learning more about her, you can read previews of her work and purchase all of her books through the site. One of the things I really like about her site is the fact that she bundles a lot of her series at a discount, which makes it very easy to indulge and get caught up.

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With Carmenica Diaz here to help kick off our Spring Celebration, it's also time for you - the readers - to do your part by stopping by, saying hello, and hopefully even sharing a few thoughts on any of her stories that you may have read . . . or are looking forward to. If you haven't previously had the chance to enjoy her work, then you are in for a treat!

Don't forget, this is your first chance to become eligible for this week's giveaways, so be sure to include your email address in your comment. Of course, you don't have to be a follower to win, but being a follower will earn you a bonus entry for the week (just let me know in your comment if you're a new follower or an old favourite).

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