Taste of Cyn

I sat down (virtually) with Lexi Post for a short interview. Lexi Post’s latest release is Masque, a wonderful Paranormal Erotic Romance. She’s also giving away a Venetian mask to one lucky Taste Of Cyn reader!

Cynthia Sax: Where did you get the idea for Masque?

Lexi Post: I love this question because I write erotic romance inspired by the classics. The classic story that inspired Masque was Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Masque of the Red Death.” I had a university student turn in a paper on this story and since I hadn’t read it in a long time, I decided to re-read it before grading the paper. I’m so glad I did!

As I read about the 7 colored rooms that Poe created in his “Abbey” and about the partying that went on there, I knew I had to use the story and make each room a Pleasure Room. But I still needed a hero because the main character in Poe’s story was Prince Prospero who was a selfish man, and the only other clear character was Death, Red Death to be exact, and everyone died at the end. So I decided that the masked figure of the Red Death was really Synn MacAllistair, a friend of the Prince, who just wanted to scare him in to doing what was right, but it all went wrong. Unbeknownst to Synn, he was a carrier of the Red Death. So then I decided to keep 73 ghosts and added a modern day heroine who buys the haunted abbey and soon finds herself caught up in Synn 😉

Cynthia Sax: Where is Masque set?

Lexi Post:
The story is set in Nova Scotia on Cape Breton as I love that place and thought it the perfect place for a 160 year old Abbey. Ashton Abbey is named that to hide what really goes on inside, which is the Masque that occurs after midnight. That’s when the 7 colored rooms – the parlor, the concert room, the library, the billiard room, the tea room, the game room and the smoking room – change into different sexual Pleasure Rooms. The way the rooms are lit is by braziers behind colored windows (Poe’s idea). The Abbey has secret passageways for the servants, dual grand staircases and is four stories tall, complete with crenellated wall walk. It even has a small chapel, numerous courtyards, a pond, and of course, a graveyard with a headstone for every resident ghost. I can’t say what each room turns in to after midnight, but I guarantee it is very sexy 😉

Cynthia Sax: What causes problems between Rena and Synn?

Lexi Post: Rena Mills buys the Abbey for a song because it’s haunted. She plans to add electricity and hot running water and open up a haunted Bed and Breakfast. She is driven to prove that she can be successful on her own without the help of her family or ex-fiancé.

Synn blames himself for the death of every person in the abbey. He is determined to help the ghosts cross over to the other side. He’s spent over 150 years trying to make that happen but nothing has worked. When Rena arrives, he believes if he can get her to complete each Pleasure Room in exact order that the grandfather clock (another Poe item) will start working again and the ghosts will rest in peace. So obviously, he can’t tell Rena his plan because if he’s successful, her enterprise fails.

Cynthia Sax: What do you love about writing erotic romance?

Lexi Post: What I like about writing erotic romance is that the reader isn’t left wondering how that intimate relationship develops. She gets to see it develop. Sometimes the sex is intense, sometimes it’s loving, sometimes kinky, sometimes the couple laughs and sometimes they end up fighting. The sex is all part of the relationship and the reader sees how it brings them closer together or causes problems.

I don’t write erotica, though I do enjoy reading it. I write erotic romance and as my agent says, I write erotic romance with a “whole lot of story.” Because my romances are inspired by classic literature, it also allows me to follow where the chosen classic leads me. In some cases it’s down a paranormal path, like Masque. But other times it might be a contemporary cowboy romance or straight contemporary. Believe it or not, Emily Dickinson’s poems inspired my Sci-fi series that takes place on the planet Eden where all the hunky mean walk around naked. There are so many classics I absolutely love, that I can’t type fast enough. I guess that’s one of the drawbacks of having taught literature, I just have too much inspiration J

Cynthia Sax: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Lexi Post:October is my annual Venetian mask giveaway month and I’ve picked a beauty for Cynthia’s blog because Cynthia is such a beauty herself. So be sure to enter the Rafflecopter for a chance to win this mask made in Italy and hand decorated.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cynthia Sax: Awww… you’re a sweetie. (big hugs) I love you so much, Lexi, and thank you for joining us today!

Lexi Post’s Website: http://www.lexipostbooks.com/

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Rena Mills plans to turn an abandoned abbey into a haunted bed-and-breakfast to prove she can be successful without her ex-fiancé. What she finds inside is Synn MacAllistair, the distinguished, self-proclaimed Ghost Keeper. Her dreams soon fill with sexual cravings for him. But are they dreams?

Synn, born in 1828, is determined to free the souls of the resident spirits, blaming himself for bringing the Red Death that killed them. When Rena steps into the old Pleasure Palace, he’s sure he can take her through the after-midnight Pleasure Rooms and stoke her passion to complete the Masque so the souls can cross over. Her innocent fire makes him crave more, but it’s far too late for him.

As Rena begins her erotic journey, her heart becomes more involved with every sensual caress until she discovers by completing the Masque she would lose her ghosts. Synn’s betrayal wars with her compassion for her ghostly friends. Torn, she must make a choice between her financial security and freeing seventy-three trapped souls. Either way, she could lose her Synn.

Buy Now:

On Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0157E67Z0

On Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1QEgdTR

On iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1038734956

On Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/masque-9