The Steam Room

TSR: What was the hardest part of writing a menage?

Renee: Two men in the bed at the same time. When writing a menage, pronouns go out the window. It's too easy to confuse who is saying what, so there is a lot of repetition of names. There's no getting around it.

Other than that, it was a lot of fun. A menage means there is always a mediator (someone to break the tie in an argument) so there isn't much need for secondary characters. Writing the menage also meant I didn't have to choose what type of hero I wanted. I could have the quiet type and the goof ball all at once.

TSR: How did you conceive the idea for Eris?

Renee: I've always loved time travel romance. Actually, I've always loved time travel fiction. I wanted to do a time travel with a black heroine. But, doing so meant being very conscious to which time I sent her. 1600s and later would probably get her into too much trouble, especially if I kept her state-side. The type of trouble that no amount of romantic plot foibles could get her out of in a believable manner.

Once I chose a time period, it was just a matter of choosing how she got there and how she would get back.

TSR: What character traits must your hero/heroine have? Why?

Renee: My heroines are usually black (unless they are a different species all together). I started writing because I wanted more interracial fantasy/paranormal romance featuring a black heroine and I couldn't find it. I found a few after I started writing, but now that I've started, I don't want to stop. Other than skin color, there is no one thing that my heroines have to have.

TSR: What are you working on now/next?

Renee: I'm working on several things, at the moment. Chief amongst my many projects I hope to have finished in the next three or four months is a merman menage. My friend Stephanie Burke challenged me to write a story to fit the 'gayest tattoo ever' (do a search and you'll see it). I'm almost finished with said challenge and look forward to seeing what readers think of it.

TSR: Why did you start your D. Renee Bagby Presents blog? (Note: a link to this site can be found in the Links section.)

Renee: I wanted a way to help people promote. I'm always doing things like promo calls where people send me bookmarks and business cards and the like to take to book signings and conventions I'm attending. That got very time-consuming and tedious. I thought of doing an excerpt blog but I know a few of those exist already. I haven't heard of many blogs featuring first chapters, so I went with that idea.

TSR: What other novels have you written?

- ADRIENNE (Bron Universe Novel), Samhain Publishing

- SERENITY (Gezane Universe Novel), Samhain Publishing

- A VALENTINE'S GIFT FOR TORI, writing as Zenobia Renquist, Red Rose Publishing

- ACKNOWLEDGING MEIRION, writing as Zenobia Renquist, Red Rose Publishing

To find out more about D. Renee Bagby, please visit her website at http://dreneebagby.com