BooksChatter: ℚ♫ I Wish I'd Never Met You

Today we have the pleasure of meeting up with author Tanith Davenport to talk about I Wish I'd Never Met You (23 February 2016, Pride Publishing, 49 pages), a Contemporary Lesbian Erotic Romance Novelette.

Author Q&A | Synopsis | Teaser | About the Author | Tour Stops

A very warm welcome to Tanith Davenport, who is from our side of the pond, here in the UK. Thank you for joining us on BooksChatter!

To start, as we love music, Tanith has shared with us her music playlist for I Wish I'd Never Met You - enjoy!

What was the inspiration for I Wish I'd Never Met You?

"I had been thinking for some time about writing a series called "In Suburbia", about an attractive suburban area with a hidden sexual undercurrent. That didn't pan out, but "I Wish I'd Never Met You" came from that plan - the idea of a lesbian couple and the reactions of their families, which in the case of Flick was much more open and relaxed than she had expected."

How much of yourself is reflected in this book, and how?

"I have a tendency to take stereotypes and try to give them a new twist. In this instance I took the gossipy, society-girl community, where you might expect lesbianism to be something of a shock, and turned it around so that the families accepted it straight away - Flick's mother is quite comical in the way she sees herself as ever so modern in having a gay daughter.

It's pretty much the opposite of how I grew up - I knew people who had abuse screamed at them for even being suspected of being gay - so there was a small part of me giving the finger to those sorts of attitudes when I wrote this."

Can you tell us something quirky about I Wish I'd Never Met You, its story and characters?

"While the story and characters themselves were based on the archetypal images people often have about suburban communities, one particular point in the novel was inspired by a more unusual source - the "Kick-Ass" comic book. It didn't make it into the film, so it may only be picked up by a select few, but it stuck in my mind as a shock moment."

Ah! I must ask my partner about that as he has read that graphic novel.
I remember putting that very edition of Kick Ass in stock at a public library and it being pulled off the shelves shortly afterwards...

Who would you recommend I Wish I'd Never Met You to and what should readers be aware of (any warnings or disclaimers)?

"I'd recommend this to anyone who likes lesbian fiction, and also anyone who likes second-chance romance - my focus was on the relationships between the people so I didn't go too dark with the sex, much as I like a little BDSM occasionally..."

If you could / wished to turn I Wish I'd Never Met You into a movie, who would be your dream team?

"I've always pictured Sara Paxton as Elodie, and Flick would probably be Katharine Isabelle - she's my favourite actress and inspires a lot of my characters.

One of the films in my head when I was writing this was "The Virgin Suicides", so if Sofia Coppola could direct it in the same location she set that film, that would be perfect."

That is actually a film I have not watched - I must remedy that. Good cast too.

What do you like to write and read about? Do you stick to a particular genre or do you like to explore different ones?

"The advantage of erotic romance is that you can write in almost any genre as long as you have an erotic thread running through it, so I like to challenge myself by writing in new areas, although I'm particularly fond of paranormal romance.

I do also love to read paranormals but my favourite genre for reading is historical, which I haven't tried writing yet as the extensive research has put me off a bit - I may try in the future."

What is your writing process?

"I usually spend an evening writing out bullet points for each scene and then actually write the scene the following day. I'm a planner when it comes to writing - if I don't know what's coming up I'll just sit and stare at the screen. I also like to go back and add to previous chapters if I suddenly come up with a new thread or character moment mid-story."

What is in store next?

"My short story "Watch the Skies" is out on March 19th as part of the Alpha Fever box set.

I'm also working on two new stories for Totally Bound, not within this universe but I do still have suburbia-related ideas."

The Alpha Fever box set is currently available for pre-order for only .99!

And as a final quirky thing, to get to know you a little bit better... do you have a pet or something that is special to you that you could share with us?

"I can provide you with a picture of them, but getting me in the shot would be impossible - they're too skittish of the camera! They're called Dash and Spot and they like to sit on the arm of the couch behind me when I'm writing, so I can turn round and pet them when I'm stuck for a phrase."

Hello Dash and Spot!!!! Lots of head scratches to you from all of us at BooksChatter :-D

Thank you for sharing them with us! The one with the white face reminds us of our cat Java, who was pregnant when we found her and now has two beautiful totally black juvenile delinquents! ;-) They are nearly a year old and kitten-wars are slowing down but have not yet ceased completely!

It was a pleasure having you here, Tanith. Have a great tour!