More Than Vanilla
More Than Vanilla is the story of a couple, Oliver and Nina, who run a chocolate shop in York and are also in a relationship where Oliver is dominant. They need to move with the times as their business is being left behind, so they hire a Belgian chocolatier, Daniel, to help them create some more grown-up products, full of exotic flavours. What they don't realise is that Daniel is also going to bring some spice into their sex life, too.
Please tell us about the characters of Oliver and Nina.
Oliver and Nina have been together for a while, and they make a good team in and out of the bedroom. Oliver is dominant and Nina submits to him willingly - the story starts with her waiting for him to come home and give her some discipline, which is part of their regular routine. However, Nina isn't a doormat - she has quite a feisty side to her, and Oliver very much enjoys thinking up new games where he can take control.
Why did you decide to set the story in York?
York is a city I like very much, and it has been one of the centres of chocolate production in England since the 18th century, so it made sense that Oliver's family would have been running a shop there for generations. And one of the other great homes of chocolate is Belgium, so that's where Daniel had to come from.
You write short stories and novels so do you have a preference between the two?
I enjoy writing at both lengths, but I like short stories because I enjoy writing in lots of different genres, including male/male, BDSM and paranormal and shorter works give me lots of flexibility and the chance to explore all those genres in a way I might not be able to if I was writing a novel.
You were formerly the editor of Forum magazine, so tell us a bit about this experience.
I could write a book about everything that happened in my time on Forum. I was with the magazine for over 20 years, and in that time I interviewed everyone from Cynthia Payne to a man who used to act as his dominant mistress' coffee table. I learned so much about different lifestyles and facets of sexuality in my time on Forum, and much of that has helped me with my writing, because I understand the mind-set of people whose fantasies might not be the same as my own.
Can you give us some insight into your monthly column The Cougar Chronicles.
The Cougar Chronicles were the fictional adventures of a woman who discovered a taste for younger men when she was in her forties. It's a theme I like to cover in my writing, perhaps because I've reached that age myself, but I do think women are realising that just because they're getting older, they don't necessarily have to fade into the background and not go after the kind of sex life they want.
Why are chocolate and men so darn sexy?
It's all about the mouth feel...
What is next for you?
I've just been working on the edits for a story about an off-duty soldier falling for a bartender in Amsterdam, another of my favourite cities. And then I have an idea for a story about a late-night DJ which will explore the fact that voices can be very sexy, so expect lots of dirty talk with that one!