Meet Laura Tolomei.
If you really want to know, I was born in 1965 in Rome, Italy, but soon started my travelling career. At the age of five, my parents took me to Lagos, Nigeria, where I grew up free and hot like I've never been since. I loved it there and still think of it with nostalgia. Anyway, it was also where I learned English.
After my African experience, I was ready to tackle the US. I lived in Atlanta, GA, five teen-age years, attending the Crestwood High School, where I started my writing career by publishing a short story Nostalgia on the Crestwood Journal. Very thrilled about discovering my new talent, I went ahead during college, writing for the Emory University journal The Phoenix. Three articles mark my first-and last-steps in journalism, "The peace Corps", "WAMM, Women Against Military Madness," and "Lesbism".
After my American experience, I moved back to Rome, but still kept living from time to time abroad, spending several months in Mumbay India, a country I always felt very close to me in more ways than one.
Today, I write both in Italian and English, mostly fiction of various genres, from fantasy erotica, to mysteries up to plain ordinary life stories.For those of you who read Italian, you can simply visit the Italian sections of my website, but if you feel particularly lazy, here's a short summary:
I have a short story on line Incontro Metropolitano (Meeting at the Subway) and two books:
Piccolo Crocevia a Cinque (Little Five Points, for those who know Atlanta it's a spot near Emory University), printed by Editing Edizioni, to be released December 2008.
L'Investigatto (loosely translated The Cat Detective), publisher Ennepil Libri, 2009.
In English, I write erotica in various genres, mostly fantasy, sci-fi and paranormal, sometimes trespassing into contemporary. Feel free to look over my current and future projects by clicking here.
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THE DEMON WAITER by Laura Tolomei
Can you survive trying to convince a demon he's your soul mate?Now he had the place. He had the lovers. He had the simultaneous come. And tonight was Halloween.
He hadn't expected it. Not at all. And yet there it was, Laurent De Berger's heart wish was a...impossible!
And to think he had done it by the book, have sex in a dusty ghost town saloon with Anthony and Renee on Halloween night, only to find out...no, he still couldn't believe it! But since there was no going around it, what to do now?
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Good morning Laura - or good evening actually since you're joining us from the other side of the world!
ReplyDeleteSuper congrats on the new release! It's been awhile since we celebrated one of your releases, so I'm extra excited today!
Tell us all about the new book! What a great Halloween read, and you have several others that are great for this time of year too, don't you!
Hope you enjoy your special day and hope THE DEMON WAITER is your biggest seller yet!
Good evening, DeNita, and hello to Author Island's friends!
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's definitely evening here in Rome, a sunny, bit cold day of October. Romans usually have wonderful October days, "le ottobrate romane" that's how we call the crisp, fresh, sun-filled days of October, and today is one of them. Makes you all the more gladder to be alive and to have a new release just out!
The occasion is even more cherished since my last release was Visionquest, another horror released about a year ago, in November 2010. But this has been a busy year, mostly reworking on several new books that are due out sooner rather than later. Most of the year, I worked on Re-Scue, the prequel to Tasting Leon's Mark. I wanted it perfect and I think now it is. November is the foreseeable date for its release, but I'll keep you informed.
For sure, I have a new release on Dec. 1st, the sequel of To Seduce A Soul Mate. Yep, Pirate Drake and his devil Martin return in The Pirate's Surrender, a hot romance in the Christmas tradition. For all those who loved Drake and Martin, their adventures will continue soon.
Then again, I had to work on the Virtus Saga, my ongoing project. Starting next year, The Leader Book 4 should be released, followed by The Pledge Book 5. They are just my favorite characters of all--Duncan, Chris and Ylianor--so can't wait for their adventures to continue, too.
But now back to The Demon Waiter. To tell you the truth, the idea isn't even mine. It was my husband's and for that I thanked him publicly with a personal dedication at the beginning of the novel...all in Italian, though, so if you don't understand the language, I'm afraid you won't know what it means. But if you have the book and ask me for the translation, I'll give it to you, no problem!
Come to think of it, languages characterize this book a lot. The protagonist, Laurent, is a Frenchman who finds himself living in the US due to various circumstances. He works for a French holding, has a French secretary, so he keeps talkingand thinking in French. If you like the language and are a little bit familiar with it, you'll find several French phrases that break up the English prose. But not to worry. Everything's translated, so also those who don't know the language, won't have any trouble understanding it.
Another interesting thing to know is that Laurent is actually a real person. I met him while vacationing in France this summer, on the Côte Azure. He was the missing piece to my husband's idea, the character I needed to interpret the story. So the two things combined, the story and the character, and voilà, les jeus sont faits.
Other than these technical details, I can say it's the most sex-filled novel I ever wrote. Hot, passioante, scorching in some places, whether it's just human sex or the more extravagant demon sex, it made me burn while writing it! But there is a menaing to it all, a meaning only The Demon Waiter can unlock, though I'm not sure Laurent is ready for the truth...or the horror. Yeah, because that's part of the story, too, so I hope you like bloody, sexy tales!
One last note. I made my demon blue-skinned. I love the color, have furnished practically all my house with it, from cabinets to carpets to the fridge, etc. I find it so elegant and sexy, too, I just had to have my demon waiter as blue as possible LOL
All right, I talked enough for one post. Now waiting for the others,
Laura
Wow - that is so interesting Laura! I'm intrigued and can't wait to read the story.
ReplyDeleteDo you find it difficult to translate your thoughts to English?
And I have a question about the book, is there more m/f or more m/m in the book?
Hi, Katie, thanks so much for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteAs for your questions:
1. Thought translation
Actually, I make no translations in my head. I don't think first in Italian, then translate it in English. I think directly in English. Saves energy and the trouble of having to find words LOL
Seriously, I couldn't write in English if I also didn't think in English. It just wouldn't work out or I'd have to spend years on each book. It's the reason why I haven't thought of translating my English books in Italian. Too much hassle. Once you know a language from the inside, translation isn't necessary anymore, trust me! I learned English when I was five-years-old, young enough that Italian hadn't taken over my entire brain, so I could handle both. Then going to high school fixed it in my brain, not to mention the thousand books I read in English. Now only time I need translation is if I'm searching for a particular word, which sometimes comes in Italian, other times in English. Then I have lots of fun with dictionaries and thesaurus to pinpoint it in the other language LOL
2. Sex scenes
Definiitely more MM than MF scenes. The ratio is 2:5, 2 being the MF scenes. There's a lot of ménage sex, too, mostly MMF, but also MMFM, MMMMM, for all the ménage fans. In the end, MF scenes are the rarest of the book LOL
Laura
Hi Artemis, great to see you here!
ReplyDeleteMénage in this book means a cobination of the ones you mentioned + more. Main sex scenes are MMF, but there's also MMFM & MMM & MMMMM, plus a lot of demoniac orgies with more participants than you can count. Ought to satisfay any tough ménage taste LOL
Thanks for dropping in,
Laura
Hi, Laura!! I'm all excited seeing the release of The Demon Waiter. I love your books!
ReplyDeleteMy question is not necessarily book related but I am an Army Brat and I noticed that you have travelled a bit, did you enjoy the travelling growing up? And do you still travel?
gembrat94@yahoo.com
Jan
hi laura!
ReplyDeleteFist congratulations regaring THE DEMON WAITER!!!
Your books look very powerful and give a lot of place to male characters. Do you find it easier to relate to a male vs a female character?
You write series. Do we need to read your series in order so we can understand the story?
Since I am a huge erotica menage romance lover, do you believe in Happy After Ending (HEA)?
Thank you so much for sharing your talent and since I am a french canadian I cannot wait to read here and there some of my language!
Mary
I've heard great things about your writing! Congrats on the new release! The cover is very interesting.
ReplyDeleteAs for my question(s)
When you first started writing professionally, how did decide what genre was the kind you wanted to write? (I sure hope that made sense!)
My other question was this; since your first language is Italian did you find it difficult? Learning to write from Italian to English?
kakuchouakisame_19@yahoo.com
I like the sound of this one though I am still waiting for more Virtus Saga books.
ReplyDelete*ponders about buying book or waiting to spend money on next Virtus one*
Hi, Jan, what a pleasure to see you here!
ReplyDeleteJust love your question, and I'll do my best to answer truthfully. Absolutely adored the traveling! Loved to move around, go in different places, countries actually, and meet new cultures, learn new languages, see different landscapes. I was as thirsty of novelties as I still am today, only back then I also had the curiosity of a child, the insatiable kind all kids have to know their world to the fullest. No amount of moving was too much for me. I loved to pack up and go, also if I had to leave my friends behind. In the end I grew without stable roots, which is not always an advantage, I realize. For me, though, it means I feel at home anywhere in the world, really. So of course I still travel, love to go and visit new places. A lot of my books are also inspired by my traveling. The Nephis Valley of the Virtus Saga is set in the Jordanian desert, the place you can see in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, when he goes on horseback through the narrow canyon and comes out to the place where the last Templar lives, remember? The place is Petra, an ancient Jordanian city, which is an incredible sight however you see it. Well, it found a place in my books, too. Or Spying the Alcove, which is set in Sicily, in one of the Ancient Greek city, all ruins now, but still suggestive enough to inspire a tale.
It's the emotions I seek now in my travels, more than the sights of the places itslef. I'd say it's a more mature way of traveling, but as equally enjoyable as the child's way.
So good of you to stop by, Jan! Hope I answred you to satisfaction.
Laura
A Virtus Saga fan? Ilona, what a pleasure to meet you! Yeah, I know it's been a while for the Virtus Saga, but sit tight 'cause it's coming out soon, beginning next year, The Leader Book 4. And it's full of deep emotions because Duncan, Chris and Ylianor are gettign to the point they can't stay one without the other. True bonding? Yeah...eventually...well, the road is still long, but there's hope, for Chris especially. The way he and Ylianor keep going after each other...hot and raw that's how I see them of late. Wourld you agree, Ilona?
ReplyDeleteBut don't worry. Soon you'll know what destiny has in store for our three heroes!
Thanks so much for sharing this with me. It means a lot.
Laura
Thank you Laura - now I know I must keep my money for next year - can't resist getting more of Chris and Ylianor :D
ReplyDeleteOMG Mary, almost missed your comment scrunched amidst my very long replies. Forgive me! Now you ask a very very interesting question. The answer is not so easy, gotta elaborate a bit, but if you bear with me, I'll try to make sense out of somethign I don't understand myseelf fully.
ReplyDeleteMore than to gender, I relate to the traits associated with each gender. I like men's strength, their power, their determination to get things done and the straight way they go about doing things. I don't relate to women's passivity or to their selflessness, maybe because I'm such an egotist myself LOL
Seriously, though, I'm as much a victim of prejudices as anybody else. My womn come out as sterotypes most of the times, obedient to the point of being passive, obedient to the point of being slaves, and that's no way a woman is or should be, not even in books. So I find it easier to use men as protagonists 'cause I can make them do things that wouldn't come natural for me to ascribe to a woman. Complicated, uh? Yeah, very.
I think I have to learn to se women as more assertive persons before I can totally relate to them on paper. Funny thing I have many close female friends and none of them are anythign like a stereotype, including the ones I meet on line. Just imagine I've been talking to this incredible woman on line for a week now, and she totally blows my mind with her personality and her strength of character. I think there's a lesson to be learned here for me. To write of women in a different light. Yes, definitely.
Thanks Mary for making me reflect on this. Don't know it makes much sense to you, but to me it could be the start of something new.
Laura
it makes total sense to me! ;)
ReplyDeletewe all have male and female personalities mixed. Equilibrium is not easy to reach. And this is why I love so much menage romance: each individual is incomplete. The social boundaries impose us a MF couple when in reality it would take more than 2 people to make the perfect relationship.
I just love that you are using the flaws of each of your characters. The complexity of their personalities keep us on our toes and that is in my book what I call TALENT!
Thank you Lalla for just be!
Mary
Mary
Yes, Mary, I totally agree with you! Conventions limit our love relationship to 2, usually MF, when in reality we're perfectly able to handle greater numbers. Because it's true, we're incomplete and we don't know how many others hold our missing pieces. Sure, could be one, but maybe could be more.
ReplyDeleteAs for the second part of your beautiful comment, please give me a moment to recover
I thank you for calling it talent, which I hope it is. What I always strive to do is to make characters as real as possible, their flaws aas necessary as their strength 'cause that's how humans are. No one is ever completely a hero or a villain. Like with the male and female traits, we all have our side of good and our side of evil. The dark side is as real as the light side, then it's up to the equilibrium you mentioned to keep one from overcoming the other. Yeah, life's difficult and I try to put it in my book much like I live it. Only thing that makes sense!
Then meeting wonderful readers like you give it even more strength, and I think I'm the luckiest gal in the world for being in contact with such special people LOL
Laura
Congrats on the new release.it sounds good.
ReplyDeleteWhat was your favorite scene to write?
elaing8(at)netscape(dot)net
Are there any actors you would like to see portray your characters?
ReplyDeletelenikaye@yahoo.com
Which is your favorite hero?
ReplyDeletedebby236 at gmail dot com
Hi, Laura, I am glad that I got a chance to visit on the blog yesterday. With my work schedule and all the overtime I have been doing, it gets hard to try and participate in a lot of things though I do try...laughs
ReplyDeleteYes, you did. I loved your response. I wish I could pack up and go, I still have the wanderlust. Hoping to convince Mom to take a trip with me overseas after my youngest is out of the house.
Congrats again on The Demon Waiter!! I also just got a copy of Spying The Alcove to enjoy when I come off my 7 days of work.
Jan
Hi elain, answering today to your question 'cause as you know I live in Italy and there are 6 hours difference between me and US East Coast, more if you're on the West Coast. So yesterday was wayyyyy past my bedtime when you left your comment!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite scen to write was the one between Renée and Laurent, in his office. Apart from the setting, which was my personal addition, the reason I like writing this one most of all is because, and please don't be shocked,itwas something that happened between my husband and another woman. We have a very open relationship and like to tell abut our...extra conjugal activities, if you know what I mean. At the time we weren't even married, though already living together, and when he told me about it, I pictured it in my head in a way it remained stuck. This happened approx 15 years ago, just to give you a measure of time. My husband and I have been together for 26 years now, got married on thedate of our 20th anniversay, and lived together for 20 years. This is solid-rock our relationship is in spite of our...fooling around. Anyway, the scene he told me about, with great details, too, was so intense it came back to me while writing The Demon Waiter, and it was so fitting, I just had to put it in LOL
Thanks for stopping by,
Laura
Hi, Leni,
ReplyDeleteI'd see Keanu Reeves as Laurent and Johnny Depp as the demon waiter. He's so androgynous, so not male and not female, he could easily pull it off LOL
Laura
Hi, Debby,
ReplyDeleteI have several favorite heroes. One which I'm sure you're not familiar with is named Sandokan, a Malaysian pirate born out of the fantasy of an Italian author, Emilio Salgari. In a series of books, Salgari told the tale of this pirate during the Nineteenth Century, battling against British domination over India and Southeast Asia. What I loved about him was his best friend and right-hand, Yanez, a Portuguese who helped him in this battle. It was simply fantastic to feel the relationship between the two men, nothing sexual of course, but their bond was so strong you couldn't help feeling it.
Another of my heroes, and this one you might know, is D'Artagnan, from Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers. Here again, what intrigued me was his relationship to the three musketeers, thre different men, yet the connection between the four was palpable. Guess I got my knack of writing about men from these two authors LOL
Laura
Oh, Jan, no sweat! I totally understand time's limited and one has to dose one's energy to survive in this frenetic world of ours LOL
ReplyDeleteBut since you made the time to check me up again, a doubly special warm welcome to you!
Oh, yeah, wanderlust never dies. Once you have it, you keep it! And that's a fact. Hard thing is to keep it under control. I, too, have the urge to pack up and leave about three or four times a week, then have to stop and remind myself of everything I'm supposed to do and put away the bags. Ha, why does the mind always win over the heart?
But in absence of a real trip, books can be good replacements, at least we get to travel with our minds. And Spying the Alcove will surely do the trick 'cause it's based in a sun-filled Sicily, among Ancient Greek ruins facing the sea, a city once powerful and ufortunately crumbled to pieces. My readers tell me the way I describe places makes them feel as if they're actually there, so I sincerely hope this works for you while reading this book. And as usual, I'd be honored if you sent me your personal review. Means a lot to me to know what you think of my work in that objective way of yours.
Thanks, Jan, for being here!
Laura
Hello Gabby, please forgive me for having missed your comment until now. I was looking over everyone who had participated, and your comment seemed to appear out of nowhere. Maybe yesterday I was more tired than I thought, sorry.
ReplyDeleteNow to your questions.
1. Genre
May surprise you, but I never sat down and thought about choosing one in particular with which to write my stories. The story pops in my head, or rather the characters start telling me the story before I even realize what genre it could be labeled into. So if the character's an astronaut leaving his home planet on a voyage to the stars, it becomes sci-fi. If instead he's a prince who has lost his way on returnign to his home and has to ask hospitality to a beautiful woman living in a shack in the nearby village, it becomes fantasy. (By the way, that's the beginning of the Virtus Saga.) So nothing's deciced beforehand for me. It all depends on who is going to tell me his story LOL
2. Language
May surprise you to know that I began writing in English long before I wrote in Italian. I don't mean the a b c's, I mean creative writing. I was in the US during my teenage years, and high school is the first place in which I tried my hand at writing. By then I had absolutely no problem with English, spoken, written or even thought. It's the advantage not just of growing up in another culture, but also of learning the language when you're five, young enough for your brain to work it like a mother tongue. On top of it, I always read a lot and it definitely helps to keep the language alive even if you no longer live in an English speakign county. So no problem at all, never had it with English, hopefully never will.
Ciao from Rome,
Laura