Bare Back Mag: Lisa, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for interviewing with Bare
Back Magazine. Can you tell us about your background and how did you decide to become
an erotic romance author?
Lisa Whitefern: When I left school I didn’t know what to do so I did a Bachelor of Arts in
English Literature, and then went straight on to do a Master of Arts. All I read in those days
was literary fiction. But one of my Master’s papers was called Popular Fiction and that paper
included study of the Romance genre, and that was my introduction to Romance.
A friend of mine also gave me my first “Black Lace” (Women’s Erotic Fiction) book and
suggested I try to write one. I did not try to write one, but I love Black Lace books and sex has
always been an interest of mine. I’m interested in the whole psychology behind our sexual
fantasies. I wrote a couple of contemporary erotic short stories which I couldn’t get anyone to
pay me for. Then I said to myself “If I want to get paid for my writing it’s not enough to just
finish a decent story, it has to be excellent! I have to put the full effort into crafting it.”
An idea then came to me for an erotic short story set during the pioneer days in the USA. I put
the full effort in, and sold that story to the third publisher I sent it to.
Bare Back Mag: What was the name of the first story that you ever wrote and what was it
about?
Lisa Whitefern: Well, the first story I ever had published, I wrote when I was ten years old. It
was published in the city newspaper. The children’s pages liked to choose the titles for stories
themselves, and they called it Sad Day for Santa. All I can remember is that it was a
Christmas story involving flying in Santa’s sleigh. It’s funny because right now I am writing a
fantasy Christmas menage that involves Santa’s sleigh and fairies for Christmas 2009.
Bare Back Mag: Your stories are very creative. Where do you get your ideas from? Do you
have a creative process that helps to inspire your writing?
Lisa Whitefern: I always start with just a germ of an idea that springs into my head. With my
Freya’s Bower ebook Waking the Witch I wanted to explore the erotic potential in Arthur Miller’
s The Crucible and I wanted to tell a ghost story involving a magic necklace.
The next thing I do is find a point of conflict between two or more characters. I always use a
strong conflict as my point of departure so that I can reassure myself that the story is going to
be interesting enough to be worth investing time in. I also don’t like to start a story until I have
an exciting ending in mind. That is another way I ensure that I have a story worth pursuing.
But I don’t outline the whole story ahead of time or if I do- it always changes.
Bare Back Mag: Many of the stories you write are romance and erotica with paranormal
elements. Do you read a lot of books that have these elements? And who are some of your
favorite authors?
Lisa Whitefern: It’s funny because before I started writing I mostly only read contemporary
fiction. I never read fantasy or paranormal adult fiction. But I found that when I wrote- fantasy
and paranormal elements crept in. I found that my most publishable work was
fantasy/paranormal. I realized that all my childhood reading of books like The Chronicles of
Narnia, The Wizard of OZ books and fairy tales were really affecting my writing, and my
critique partner told me fantasy stories were where I showed the most talent. So that was
when I started reading Freya’s Bower and Ellora’s Cave and Black Lace Paranormal erotic
fiction. I love Shelley Munro, Janine Ashbless and Portia Da Costa. Non erotic authors that I
love include Margaret Atwood, Chris Bohjalian, Emily and Anne Bronte and Nora Roberts.
Bare Back Mag: What does your husband think about these types of stories and about you
writing them?
Lisa Whitefern: He just laughs at me for having a dirty mind. He wants me to tell you that he
is the inspiration for everything I write.
Bare Back Mag: Do you have any up and coming writing projects and what can we expect
from any of those projects?
Lisa Whitefern: I have an ebook out now with Freya’s Bower that I am proud of. It is an
historical paranormal erotic romance novella set during the Salem Witch Trials. It’s a younger
man/older woman story that involves a vicious ghost trapped in an opal necklace.
Waking the Witch received a 5 champagne flute review from Cocktail Reviews.
This ebook is available for $3.99 from http://www.freyasbower.com/ in the historical and
paranormal categories.
I have another short story recently print published in The Mammoth Book of the Kama Sutra
edited by Maxim Jakubowski available from Amazon.com. My story is The Tale of the Elephant.
I have a novel Shadow of the Lion that I am working on that I don’t have a publisher for yet,
and a novella called Santa’s Sons.
Bare Back Mag: Your story, The Glass Castle is featured in Fairy Tales Can Come True.
Let's talk about how you came up with the concept for the story?
Lisa Whitefern: With The Glass Castle I just got this sudden desire to write an erotic version
of Hans Christian Andersen's “The Snow Queen” the desire to do that came out of nowhere
really- just a memory of the beauty of that story. The characters in the original story are two
children who are best friends. Of course they are adults in my story and the story is a
comedy, an erotic spoof of the original story, but I tried to keep the beauty of the original.
Bare Back Mag: How long did it take you to write The Glass Castle?
Lisa Whitefern: I can’t remember. I never keep track of stuff like that.
Bare Back Mag: How would you describe The Glass Castle in a few words and what can
readers expect from the story?
Lisa Whitefern: I think there is beauty in the story. I always loved stories where a little girl
gets lost in Fairyland and it’s that sort of story. (Only it’s an adult woman lost in an erotic fairy
land) It’s comedy, maybe a little shocking, and if you know the story The Snow Queen you’ll
see it parodies the story a little. But you definitely don’t need to have read The Snow Queen
to enjoy The Glass Castle.
Bare Back Mag: You have said that you have a passion for fairy tales. Do you agree or
disagree with the following quote from Danielle Steel: "If you see magic in a fairy tale, you can
face the future," What does this quote mean to you?
Lisa Whitefern: Yes, I agree with it. Fairy tales are mystical handbooks that teach us how to
grow and change and triumph over the forces of darkness that we confront within our lives
and within ourselves.
Bare Back Mag: If I were to ask you who is Lisa Whitefern what would you say?
Lisa Whitefern: The easy answer to that is- Lisa Whitefern is my pen name.
Bare Back Mag: Besides writing, what kinds of things do you like to do on your spare time
hobbies etc.
Lisa Whitefern: Well I have two little sons so they keep me busy. I am an Internet and coffee
junkie. I like to swim for fitness. I do volunteer crisis telephone counseling. I attend Romance
Writers Of New Zealand meetings. And of course I’m obsessed with books! I also have a weird
addiction to the TV show Survivor.
Bare Back Mag: What would you like to see for your career as a writer? Do you want to write
any other writing genres? Do you have any long term or short term goals either in writing or
other than writing that you would like to share?
Lisa Whitefern: Erotic Urban Fantasy seems to be the way I’m going. I really want to write a
Romantic Suspense at some point, but I have a feeling it will turn into Urban Fantasy
Romantic Suspense. I have dreams of writing a thriller. I’ve never considered myself an
historical author, but three of my published erotic works are historical, and so I want to write a
Victorian Erotic Paranormal Historical.
My nine-year-old keeps asking me when I’m going to write something for children, and I had
an idea for a pre-teen Urban Fantasy. Basically- I want to write everything.(lol) I have journals
full of scribbled plot ideas I’ve yet to tackle.
Bare Back Mag: Thank you Lisa for interviewing with Bare Back Magazine!
Interviewed by Natasha
© January 2009
Back Magazine. Can you tell us about your background and how did you decide to become
an erotic romance author?
Lisa Whitefern: When I left school I didn’t know what to do so I did a Bachelor of Arts in
English Literature, and then went straight on to do a Master of Arts. All I read in those days
was literary fiction. But one of my Master’s papers was called Popular Fiction and that paper
included study of the Romance genre, and that was my introduction to Romance.
A friend of mine also gave me my first “Black Lace” (Women’s Erotic Fiction) book and
suggested I try to write one. I did not try to write one, but I love Black Lace books and sex has
always been an interest of mine. I’m interested in the whole psychology behind our sexual
fantasies. I wrote a couple of contemporary erotic short stories which I couldn’t get anyone to
pay me for. Then I said to myself “If I want to get paid for my writing it’s not enough to just
finish a decent story, it has to be excellent! I have to put the full effort into crafting it.”
An idea then came to me for an erotic short story set during the pioneer days in the USA. I put
the full effort in, and sold that story to the third publisher I sent it to.
Bare Back Mag: What was the name of the first story that you ever wrote and what was it
about?
Lisa Whitefern: Well, the first story I ever had published, I wrote when I was ten years old. It
was published in the city newspaper. The children’s pages liked to choose the titles for stories
themselves, and they called it Sad Day for Santa. All I can remember is that it was a
Christmas story involving flying in Santa’s sleigh. It’s funny because right now I am writing a
fantasy Christmas menage that involves Santa’s sleigh and fairies for Christmas 2009.
Bare Back Mag: Your stories are very creative. Where do you get your ideas from? Do you
have a creative process that helps to inspire your writing?
Lisa Whitefern: I always start with just a germ of an idea that springs into my head. With my
Freya’s Bower ebook Waking the Witch I wanted to explore the erotic potential in Arthur Miller’
s The Crucible and I wanted to tell a ghost story involving a magic necklace.
The next thing I do is find a point of conflict between two or more characters. I always use a
strong conflict as my point of departure so that I can reassure myself that the story is going to
be interesting enough to be worth investing time in. I also don’t like to start a story until I have
an exciting ending in mind. That is another way I ensure that I have a story worth pursuing.
But I don’t outline the whole story ahead of time or if I do- it always changes.
Bare Back Mag: Many of the stories you write are romance and erotica with paranormal
elements. Do you read a lot of books that have these elements? And who are some of your
favorite authors?
Lisa Whitefern: It’s funny because before I started writing I mostly only read contemporary
fiction. I never read fantasy or paranormal adult fiction. But I found that when I wrote- fantasy
and paranormal elements crept in. I found that my most publishable work was
fantasy/paranormal. I realized that all my childhood reading of books like The Chronicles of
Narnia, The Wizard of OZ books and fairy tales were really affecting my writing, and my
critique partner told me fantasy stories were where I showed the most talent. So that was
when I started reading Freya’s Bower and Ellora’s Cave and Black Lace Paranormal erotic
fiction. I love Shelley Munro, Janine Ashbless and Portia Da Costa. Non erotic authors that I
love include Margaret Atwood, Chris Bohjalian, Emily and Anne Bronte and Nora Roberts.
Bare Back Mag: What does your husband think about these types of stories and about you
writing them?
Lisa Whitefern: He just laughs at me for having a dirty mind. He wants me to tell you that he
is the inspiration for everything I write.
Bare Back Mag: Do you have any up and coming writing projects and what can we expect
from any of those projects?
Lisa Whitefern: I have an ebook out now with Freya’s Bower that I am proud of. It is an
historical paranormal erotic romance novella set during the Salem Witch Trials. It’s a younger
man/older woman story that involves a vicious ghost trapped in an opal necklace.
Waking the Witch received a 5 champagne flute review from Cocktail Reviews.
This ebook is available for $3.99 from http://www.freyasbower.com/ in the historical and
paranormal categories.
I have another short story recently print published in The Mammoth Book of the Kama Sutra
edited by Maxim Jakubowski available from Amazon.com. My story is The Tale of the Elephant.
I have a novel Shadow of the Lion that I am working on that I don’t have a publisher for yet,
and a novella called Santa’s Sons.
Bare Back Mag: Your story, The Glass Castle is featured in Fairy Tales Can Come True.
Let's talk about how you came up with the concept for the story?
Lisa Whitefern: With The Glass Castle I just got this sudden desire to write an erotic version
of Hans Christian Andersen's “The Snow Queen” the desire to do that came out of nowhere
really- just a memory of the beauty of that story. The characters in the original story are two
children who are best friends. Of course they are adults in my story and the story is a
comedy, an erotic spoof of the original story, but I tried to keep the beauty of the original.
Bare Back Mag: How long did it take you to write The Glass Castle?
Lisa Whitefern: I can’t remember. I never keep track of stuff like that.
Bare Back Mag: How would you describe The Glass Castle in a few words and what can
readers expect from the story?
Lisa Whitefern: I think there is beauty in the story. I always loved stories where a little girl
gets lost in Fairyland and it’s that sort of story. (Only it’s an adult woman lost in an erotic fairy
land) It’s comedy, maybe a little shocking, and if you know the story The Snow Queen you’ll
see it parodies the story a little. But you definitely don’t need to have read The Snow Queen
to enjoy The Glass Castle.
Bare Back Mag: You have said that you have a passion for fairy tales. Do you agree or
disagree with the following quote from Danielle Steel: "If you see magic in a fairy tale, you can
face the future," What does this quote mean to you?
Lisa Whitefern: Yes, I agree with it. Fairy tales are mystical handbooks that teach us how to
grow and change and triumph over the forces of darkness that we confront within our lives
and within ourselves.
Bare Back Mag: If I were to ask you who is Lisa Whitefern what would you say?
Lisa Whitefern: The easy answer to that is- Lisa Whitefern is my pen name.
Bare Back Mag: Besides writing, what kinds of things do you like to do on your spare time
hobbies etc.
Lisa Whitefern: Well I have two little sons so they keep me busy. I am an Internet and coffee
junkie. I like to swim for fitness. I do volunteer crisis telephone counseling. I attend Romance
Writers Of New Zealand meetings. And of course I’m obsessed with books! I also have a weird
addiction to the TV show Survivor.
Bare Back Mag: What would you like to see for your career as a writer? Do you want to write
any other writing genres? Do you have any long term or short term goals either in writing or
other than writing that you would like to share?
Lisa Whitefern: Erotic Urban Fantasy seems to be the way I’m going. I really want to write a
Romantic Suspense at some point, but I have a feeling it will turn into Urban Fantasy
Romantic Suspense. I have dreams of writing a thriller. I’ve never considered myself an
historical author, but three of my published erotic works are historical, and so I want to write a
Victorian Erotic Paranormal Historical.
My nine-year-old keeps asking me when I’m going to write something for children, and I had
an idea for a pre-teen Urban Fantasy. Basically- I want to write everything.(lol) I have journals
full of scribbled plot ideas I’ve yet to tackle.
Bare Back Mag: Thank you Lisa for interviewing with Bare Back Magazine!
Interviewed by Natasha
© January 2009
Lisa Whitefern
New Zealand author, Lisa Whitefern, has become successful in writing erotic romance with
paranormal elements. Lisa's unique writing style has drawn readers around the world to her
work. Lisa's short story entitled, The Glass Castle, is featured in Bare Back Magazine's
anthology Fairy Tales Can Come True. She is the first from a series of authors from the
anthology who will be featured in up coming issues of the magazine...
paranormal elements. Lisa's unique writing style has drawn readers around the world to her
work. Lisa's short story entitled, The Glass Castle, is featured in Bare Back Magazine's
anthology Fairy Tales Can Come True. She is the first from a series of authors from the
anthology who will be featured in up coming issues of the magazine...
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