Me: The obvious kink for a Cinderella story is foot fetish, but you’ve gone for a whole lot more—-pegging, forced feminization, sissification, and a bunch of others. What made you connect those themes with Cinderella?
LL: Well, in my Cinderella, she is an apprentice to two stepsisters, Druscilla and Arabelle Ravyn, who have a tight grip of control on their city’s Society of Houses. The Houses are places where clients can indulge in any kind of kinky fantasy with a Mistress or Master; Druscilla specializes in Cock and Ball Torture, or CBT, and Arabelle is known for her beatings. After their parents made an alliance to form the House of Ravyn, their fame skyrocketed. The stepsisters looked alike enough to be blood, and at times that’s a taboo fantasy they have on offer for their clients.
As much as I enjoy foot fetish, I had much grander ideas planned for my retelling of Cinderella. Who needs magical shoes when you could have a magical strap-on that comes to life, instead? I really enjoy writing femdom and forced feminization – although maybe I didn’t realize the extent of that enjoyment until I got wrist-deep in Cinderella, if you’ll pardon the fisting pun.
I really wanted to create a semi-modern feel, with aspects of goth, metal, and 24/7 BDSM culture along with a liberal sprinkling of magic. I adore magic, and I just couldn’t take that out. Cinderella’s City is modern, but you can imagine that it might just exist in an alternative universe.
Me: Could you give a few examples of things that appear in the original story and how you’ve changed them for your story?
LL: Of course there are still stepsisters. Originally they were going to be twins, but when they surprised me with a really hot sex scene involving punishing Cinderella for perceived impertinence, I thought it would be safer to change them back into stepsisters. This novella, if I say so myself, is too good to risk it being banned anywhere!
Another big thing is the heteronormativity. I cut my teeth on romance novels, and I was a big fan for years – but that was before I realized I was a lesbian. The rampant sexism and dog-tired alpha male tropes burned me out on the genre for years. I’m still a sucker for a good romance, but anything not doggedly cliché in regards to gender roles is what really interests me now.
But of course, the most important part would be the switching of the magical shoes for a magical strap-on that comes to life! To quote Fairy Kink Mother on that particular bit of cleverness: “Damn, I’m good.”
Me: Tell me more about this magical strap-on. I myself would love to really know how it feels to have sex as a man.
LL: Not being a man myself, this involved a bit of speculation. I’m very happily female-bodied, but I’ve had plenty of fun with strap-ons – on both ends. I’ve written erotica from the point of view of both men and women, though, so I don’t think it was much of a stretch. Cinderella is able to fuck – and to cum – with both her female parts and her magical male parts; she has just as much fun with this magical providence as you can imagine. Her male orgasms are shorter and more animalistic compared to her female ones. In contrast, the submissive rock star Kink-Bottom Prince, who in the story is looking for a new live-in Mistress, explores his feminine side; with the help of Cinderella’s magic cock, he takes her inside of him and is able to have multiple non-ejaculatory orgasms, just as a woman does. I might add, this is entirely possible and realistic – when I was still dating my ex-boyfriend, I witnessed this phenomenon and thought it was amazing. I wrote it much as I experienced it.
Me: I have to ask what you think of the Disney Cinderella.
LL: What little girl doesn’t love the concept? Cinderella was always one of my favorite fairy tales, and I loved the movie as a child. But, again, the heteronormativity. I haven’t watched it in years.
Me: Fairy Kink Mother versus Fairy Godmother. What are three things they have in common and three things they absolutely don’t have in common?
LL: Common denominators:
1. She appears magically and saves Cinderella when she needs help the most.
2. Kindly and with a bit of sense of humor at herself, but also quite self-satisfied at the opportunity to show off.
3. The magic only lasts until midnight.
Uncommon denominators:
1. Fairy Kink Mother is like a magical case worker. She has many clients, and often is run thin trying to manage them all, magically speaking. She has enough magic to last until midnight, but she promises to return to append the spell to permanence once she has attended to some other urgent cases. Still, she has a raunchy and mischievous sense of humor, and can laugh at anything.
2. Fairy Kink Mother, while quite kindly, is not altogether altruistic. She has won the prestigious award of Fairy Kink Mother of the Year six years running, and is determined to keep the winning streak alive. She likes to show off, and is bit more vengeful than an angelic Fairy Godmother would be.
3. Fairy Kink Mother knows all your innermost fantasies and desires, and is not shy about sex in the slightest. You know, she sounds quite a bit like me – something that my beta readers pointed out to me!
Me: You mentioned on your blog that you originally envisioned this story as a shorter work. Was there a particular scene or concept that you just had to expand?
LL: The very first inking of inspiration for Cinderella: A BDSM Retelling was actually sparked by a call for submissions for an anthology of kinky fairy tales. The maximum word count was 5,000 words. I didn’t end up submitting because my idea hadn’t coalesced fully yet, and I think that that was a blessing in disguise. After releasing my erotic science fiction novelette, Doubled, in which a sexy lady scientist who has always been too shy to be with a woman clones herself and sexiness ensues, I’ve been meaning to write longer pieces. Doubled clocked in at a bit above 12,000 words, and at over 21,000, Cinderella is nearly the double of Doubled! Maybe I should have called it Cinderella: BDSM to the Fourth Power. I’m gradually challenging myself to write longer and longer pieces until –oops!—I’m at novel length!
Anyway, to really answer your question, the ballroom scene ended up much longer than I expected. Cinderella comes and steals the show, playing out an intense BDSM scene with Kink-Bottom Prince in front of the cream of the Society of Houses’ elite. I had a few specific acts in mind, and I didn’t want to rush any of them.
And of course there was a scene with a client, earlier on, in which I had Cinderella explore forced feminization and realize just what it was she wanted in her perfect submissive. Then there was the ménage a trois with the stepsisters, and the delightful scene where Fairy Kink Mother appears… I could go on, but I suggest you read the book instead!
Me: Anything else you’d like to add?
LL: I adore fairy tale retellings. My first was Wolf Moon: Redd’s First Ride, in which I took the story of Red Riding Hood and turned it into an alternate pre-Emancipation America, complete with racial divide and werewolves, called weyres, being the enslaved race. I previously thought that it would be a quintet of novelettes, but maybe I’ll just rework it and release it as a novel all at once. I’m not sure yet.
And if you like paranormal romance, I have a great concept for a BDSM retelling of Beauty and the Beast, which will also be of novella length. I don’t want to say much here, but if you enjoyed Wolf Moon, and if you enjoy Cinderella, you will without a doubt enjoy Beauty and the Beast: A BDSM Retelling. However, I don’t have a release date on that determined as of yet.
To pitch a bit more, if you enjoy science fiction, I would definitely suggest Doubled: An Erotic Science Fiction Novelette. It’s one of my favorite pieces I’ve written to date, and perfect for the bi-curious with an appetite for fantastical yet plausible science.
Me: I’m so pleased you took the time to answer my questions! I hope Cinderella does well for you.
LL: Thanks again for having me, and for the interesting questions. I very much appreciate it.
AUTHOR BIO:
A femme queer-identified woman residing in Philadelphia, Lula Lisbon enjoys penning LGBT erotica and romance. Lula’s interests include historical fashions, dark music, and craft beers. She loves to bicycle as much as possible, and stays tight and toned with a grueling regime of pole dance fitness classes.
Lula’s femdom story “Icing on the Cake” is her first to be included in a print anthology — editor Rachel Kramer Bussel’s The Big Book of Orgasms. It will be released by Cleis Press in October 2013.
Lula loves to hear from her fans, and they can find her on Twitter: @LulaLisbon; on Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorlulalisbon; on her website: www.lulalisbon.com; or they can email her directly at Lula.Lisbon@gmail.com.
Cinderella: A BDSM Retelling is now available at Smashwords, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Rainbow eBooks, and soon available on Sony, Diesel, and iTunes.
As for Lula’s entire catalogue, it is available at Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Sony, Kobo, Diesel, and Rainbow eBooks.
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