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About Laura Tolomei
Born 1965 in Rome, Italy, I grew up in Nigeria, US and India, returning to Rome to complete my studies and start a working career. In 2008 I published my first short story in eXtasy's Anthology Atlantis Allure and have been writing and publishing since then in both Italian and English. since. Still a fairly new author, I have already published three full length novels and several short stories at eXtasy, with more yet to come as you can see on my website www.lallagatta.com.and don't miss my latest release Spying the Alcove or the October 31st release Bloody Passion.
Back list
Spying the Alcove, eXtasy Books
Roman Seduction, eXtasy Books
Sacrificial Sex, eXtasy Books
Divinitas, eXtasy Books
Trespassing All Hallows Eve, eXtasy Books
Coming soon
Coming Dec. 15th by eXtasy Books - To Seduce a Soulmate
Coming 2010 - Virtus the Saga: The Sex
An Interview with Laura Tolomei
By Holly Hewson for The Romance Studio
HH: Laura, thank you for talking with us at TRS (The Rainbow Studio). Please tell us about your featured book, Bloody Passion.LT: Set in 1st century Celtic Britain, Bloody Passion is a dark paranormal horror in which sex, passion, power and transformation meet murder, a borderline action-packed thriller where a Druid, a hunter and his apprentice fight evil first in the form of a dangerous predator, then in the more deadly guise of a vicious killer who massacres innocent girls. But Bloody Passion goes deeper than that, uncovering Cedric's dark side, which only Rory, the hunter turned lover, is capable of mastering and directing to a good aim. As you can guess, the genre is in my best tradition—M/M, dark fantasy, horror, paranormal with a touch of the historical, Celtic Britain being not just one of my favorite time periods, but also the only one where Halloween makes sense to me. Well, they invented it, so to speak, free of commercial trappings, rather with a spirituality that remains unequalled to this day. So it's not by accident Cedric discovers his powers on such a night when spirits become real and anything is possible, including incredible transformations and the sealing of a bond destined to last a lifetime. To readers interested in style, I have to mention this is a first for me because it's all written in first person POV. It was an interesting experience since I'm not familiar with this writing format, so far my only experiment being with Spying the Alcove, where a part of the story was in Lidia's own voice, my female protagonist. In Bloody Passion though, it was more difficult since Cedric is obviously a man so I had to enlist a very knowledgeable help, read it my mate, to tell me what they think and why they behave the way they do…in and out of bedd. Well, what do you know it? It turned out great fun and I think I'm as close as being a man as I ever will LOL.
HH: A Druid, a hunter, and the hunter's apprentice. Where did you get the idea for this sizzling, action-packed story? LT: Usually, I don't pick up ideas from an outside source, rather I already have them in me, ready to come out at the right time or when the occasion require it. In this case, the theme was Halloween so what better protagonist than a Druid caught in the battle between good and evil? And of course, when we talk of fighting, a hunter comes to mind, his precious skills sometimes worth more than the spiritual ones. And finally, what is a hunter without an apprentice? So this is how I created the gut wrenching horror of Bloody Passion's action thriller.
HH: What do you like best about Cedric and how do you relate to him? LT: Mostly, his skepticism at life and its spiritual beliefs, particularly odd for a Druid living at the time he was. I mean, he hovers between the good and evil, his own mother being afraid of him enough to abandon him to Korax's cares. But it's not Cedric's fault if blood shadows follow him because, as the hunter explains, he attracts evil in whatever form it comes. A hard destiny to carry, especially when he starts doubting about his sanity, caught between his dream world and the harsh reality of murder. And as strange as it may seem, I can relate to that, sometimes thinking I see or feel things other people don't and wonder if I'm the sane or insane one.
HH: What do you like about Rory and why might he be perfect for him? LT: Rory is my kind of hero, the alpha man, always sure of himself and of his tastes, never limiting his choice to gender, but taking all life has to offer as far as pleasure or excitement goes. But he also has a mission, something he believes in enough to change his life, if needed. That's his power, the one I most admire, the same that can tame Cedric's darker side—which is why he's perfect for him—to focus it on nobler deeds. True, in their case the physical attraction complicates matters to the point their connection becomes an imperative necessity, a power of its own, but that's how life works most of the times.
HH: How did you go about creating the world these characters live in? LT: I researched Celt culture, then combined what I found with what I already knew from earlier studies and finally, added my own imagination to the brew. So 40% history, 20% hearsay, 40% imagination, that's my recipe for settings in my books LOL.
HH: What else do you have in store for lucky readers?
LT: My great Christmas release, To Seduce a Soulmate, a completely different type of story, still in the M/M genre, and one of my favorites so far. Dedicated to all those who believe in destiny and in the existence of a soul mate, To Seduce a Soulmate is a delicious Christmas story, a bit off my usual fantasy/horror genre. But not to worry, like in my best traditions, it's strictly M/M, even if it happens in modern day USA, Atlanta for that matter in the period that goes between Thanksgiving and Christmas. One month might seem exaggerated to seduce a soul mate, someone who by definition should have no reservations about falling in love with the one person destiny selected for him, but such is life, presenting us with difficult choices to make, particularly when it comes to love. And nothing felt more upsetting than discovering Martin was Pirate Drake's soul mate. So dilemmas about gender, feelings, connections and sex made it all the more difficult to make a choice, if Drake would ever make one. Or maybe Martin's ability would conquer him in the end? And what about the craving, the passion, the burning desire? Well, it's all there in To Seduce a Soulmate, my Christmas release by eXtasy Books.
HH: How did you get your start as a writer? LT: By wanting to have a short story published in my high school journal. I submitted for two consecutive years, but only the second one did they accept Nostalgia, my first published work. I was so thrilled I went ahead and began considering a writing career, working for the Emory U magazine The Phoenix. Well, life had other plans and from those first accomplishments, I had to wait other 10 years before I wrote my first fiction novel in Italian and even more for my first English novel, which is 25 years after Nostalgia. But hey, who's counting? I have no regrets. I'm just glad my time came to pursue what has always been a passion of mine.
HH: In your opinion, what is the best thing about being a writer? LT: To invent your own stories. Yes, that's definitely the best thing about being a writer, using my imagination to create just about anything. I'll tell you a secret. After reading tons of books, and I mean TONS, I was getting to disagree more and more with the author's plot or character twists, thinking I'd do it another way entirely if I had the chance. So now I create my own chance and have a whole lot more fun in the process, too LOL
HH: What do you enjoy reading and what would we find in your to-be-read pile? LT: I love just about anything, from fiction to non-fiction, fantasy, mystery, paranormal and history in particular. In my to-be-read list, you'd find many Italian authors, like Umberto Eco and Licia Troisi along with fantasy authors like Katherine Kerr and Marion Zimmer Bradley, the few books of hers I haven't read yet.
HH: Any special plans for the holidays this year? LT: To be honest, I'm not planning anything special because I've had a year's worth of running around. It started in June, going to a French sea resort, then July in Romania for a wedding, August back in France to another great sea resort, September at Lampedusa, a great island in the Mediterranean Sea near Africa—is it somewhaat obvious I love sun & sea? —and November I'm leaving to Sweden and France for business, my official one. By Christmas, if I survive, I plan to REST.
HH: Thank you!
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